


Awake and Alive: Survival

by Vantage77



Category: Jurassic Park - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:07:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26271619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vantage77/pseuds/Vantage77
Summary: Rick had thought he and his best friend Tyler ended up on a deserted island, but the large predators that they met soon told them they were instead on Isla Sorna. Together they learned the do and don'ts of the island and have managed to survive for a time, but he knew they eventually would slip up and die here unless they can find a way off. Sometimes however life finds a way even from the strangest of sources. OC/RaptorOrigional work on FanFiction deleted so this is the repost. Credit for the original idea and work goes to  Primus1243 on Fanfiction.
Relationships: Original Male Character & Female Raptor
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Running

Running, that's all I could think about at the moment. Running, it might seem tiring to you but I have been doing this for a while now. It's one of the most important things to do when surviving on this godforsaken island.  
I looked to my left to see my best friend Tyler ducking under a log before rolling to his feet and continuing to run alongside me. He is likely one of if not the only thing that has kept me sane throughout this whole ordeal.  
My name is Rick Stanton and me and my friend Tyler have been stuck here for a month and you might think that me, a seventeen-year-old, and Tyler a nineteen-year-old, living on this island would freak out pretty fast. However, I read enough survival stories to know what to do and Tyler has always been used to being on his own and was an avid hunter. You just don't know when something gonna pops out and in this jungle, it happens a lot around here thank god for horror movies they made me pay attention to my surroundings. Sometimes I wonder when help or rescue will arrive. Hell, I'll take a shrimp or clam boat at this point.  
When we first got to this as a result of a boating incident, we had a nagging suspicion about where we had landed. It had been raining from the storm that had caused our boat to sink, then again it probably wasn't a good idea to go on a boating trip with Tyler and his father Dan and plot a course so close to this particular island. We had struggled ashore after the boat had sunk and soon blacked out we awoke the next day and scoured the beach for anything that could have washed ashore. We found a few things namely Tyler's Bear Archery Brave 3 bow set that he had used to shoot fish near the boat, a few flares, and Dan. Dan had drowned at sea and had been washed up on the beach Tyler… had been quiet for a long time as we buried him and awhile after.  
After burying Dan we had started to head inland to find a spot to make camp it didn't take us long to discover that we were indeed on the island we feared we were on. That first night we slept high in the trees.  
The next day we found the bunker that was now our home. I had found an old military radio in our hideout. Of course, as everything else here it is old and busted. I've been looking for the parts, but no such luck. The building happens to be a security outpost. The only entrance is the garage and front door, thankfully Tyler had reinforced the garage door so nothing big could break-in. We lucked out and found a solar power and water generator. Do you know how much power is stored from years of unused solar power? A lot. The water generator comes from a stream running below the building; luckily the stream is small enough to not let big things like compys though, but enough for fish to pass through.  
We had found a lot of useful stuff in the bunker as well like some weapons such as tranquilizer guns and a knife. But the most important thing I found is a modern long-lasting bow and a lot of arrows that I shared with Tyler. Some people think that guns are better, but let me ask you something. If you go for one use tranq bullets or reusable arrows then which one would you use? Plus as Tyler had pointed out when I thought of using a sniper rifle with bullets we had found that guns make a lot of noise and bows are relatively silent. So we use it for the defense of the bunker although with all the traps we have set up it doesn't come into play much.  
Back to me, I was running from some triceratops that looked like normal ones you would expect to see. I would be jumping and ducking the trees and roots in the path, but these guys were plowing through like it was nothing, thank-god Tyler and I had gotten good at parkour. We had to reach the area where the outpost was to be safe from these things. There is another smaller bunker looking building nearby that will take us there without going through open plains; which is dangerous. You don't want another dinosaur chasing you now, do you?  
Rick jumps over a fallen tree to end up at the bottom of a small embankment. He found a small crevice on the side of the embankment to hide for a moment. Tyler quickly joined him and they waited. The thundering footsteps of the triceratops passed over them. Rick looked out of their hiding place to see the triceratops continue into the dense jungle.  
They came out and stayed couched to listen to the area. Rick closed his eyes to listen carefully. If there was one thing that all of this island life had taught him and Tyler is 'Be aware of your surroundings…or else'. He slowly took the bow on his back and an arrow. He notched it silently and waited. He soon heard some scampering on his left. He pulled the arrow back and readied to fire it. The scampering came closer and closer. 'That's close enough.' He opened his eyes and aimed to the left to see some leaves moving, although they weren't making a sound, it was obvious that something was there. He let go of the arrow and it went away silently through the air. It went into the bushes and out came a cry of pain. He knew he struck gold.  
He went over to find a regular size compy with an arrow through its midsection. "Nice shot," Tyler told him as he pulled the arrow out and picked up the compy. The two then ran to the bunker quickly with their weapons on their backs and a bleeding compy. They had to cover up the smell fast, otherwise, the most dangerous thing on the island would be there in a heartbeat, and no, it is not the T-rex. It is the goddam raptors that are the biggest problem here. They can track a smell of blood from a long way away and could you say SMART; Rick had some hunter's smell masker near the building to hide the smell so they had to make it there quickly.  
They came through the last thicket of forest and emerged in front of a gray bunker that he had been looking for. He put the compy near the door and then looked around for an emergency box that Rick had filled with some scent masker. Finding it, Rick pulled out a powder-filled can and started to spread around the area of the clearing of the bunker. If they were lucky then any predator would pass by without a thought. He finished up with a bit more placed around the edges and the door to make sure.  
They then took the underground tunnel to the outpost to finally cook the thing. They had eaten raw meat from fresh kills before they had found a working stove. Rick couldn't wait to savor the taste of the fresh meat. After a few days on the island, he turned from a city kid to an island survivor. If someone told him that he couldn't survive on an island for a week, he would laugh his ass off at this. 'A week, try a month.'  
He came upon the underground door to the outpost and felt relief at this. The two had been out on the jungle for two days and couldn't wait for some sleep on their beds. He opened the door to find himself in the maintenance tunnel. There are three outgoing tunnels, but only one is unblocked from cave-ins. He went upstairs to end up in the lobby. The only place he needs to be is upstairs. He went up the spiral staircase followed by Tyler to their home. He emerged to the living room to find that his iPod is still playing 'Crawling Back to You' by Daughtry. 'I can't believe that I left that on.' Although it was at a low setting, it was dangerous to leave it like that. He certainly didn't want any dinos snooping around here. The iPod had luckily survived the boat incident and it helped their mentality immensely being able to listen to music.  
Rick quickly turned it off and went to the kitchen to cook up some compy while Tyler went off to check the booby-traps. Good thing they now had something fresh, five-day-old meat is bad, even with a freezer. He put down the compy on the cutting board to start slicing the good parts; everything else goes in the incinerator. All those years of cutting chicken with his dad paid off to get some food in his stomach. Once he finished cutting them apart, he sliced in some places on the meat to make a small crevice. He then took some salt to marinate it overnight. Once he finishes that he placed them all in the fridge in a large bowl. He would cook them tomorrow. Now, he had to eat leftovers.  
After he and Tyler, who had returned from checking the traps, finished eating Rick let out a big burp that went unexcused, after all, who cares about table manners on this island? Rick took off the tactical vest he had found in the armory and often wore. He then took off his tactical pants to be in his 'inside clothes' as he called it; a half pants and a light shirt. He placed them both on the table and went to sleep on his makeshift bed he made out of good ones he found Tyler quickly doing the same before going to what he liked to call "The Nest" which was a small balcony area that was adjacent to Rick's room. The balcony had a roof and large windows that Tyler had set camouflage netting in front of to obscure any predator's sight of the rooms' occupants. Rick settled in for a decent night's sleep as the moon rose to signal it nighttime. He started to wonder what else this island has in store for him. It had been a month of living hell, but this is how humans use to live way back when so he's not that worried.

: POV CHANGE:  
The Velociraptor pack was running toward whatever made that bloodied smell. Whatever it was, it smells fresh and possibly good to eat. They came upon a clearing that had the building the humans made. How they hated humans. They had trapped them and tortured them for a long time. Now they were free, but still, the human signs of living there once were there. The pack sniffed to find the trail, but it disappeared. They all started to split up to find out where the smell is, leaving one in the clearing. The remaining raptor came upon some white powder and took a whiff. When the powder hit its nostrils it itched so much that the raptor sneezed it out again and again. When it was gone the raptor found that the sneezing powder ran in a circle around the building. There was even a bit around the entrance.  
Unlike the others in its pack, this one raptor was a bit special. It found human life to be fascinating. The raptor would collect human items such as their clothing and personal items they carried from the mainland, although it didn't know about the mainland. It turned its head to enter the door, which was slightly open but still had a bar across it. The raptor knew enough of human buildings to know how to open them and even unlock and lock too.  
When it was about to pull the bar it heard a raptor call, three cries that meant trouble. It turned to the direction of the call and ran through the canopy forest quickly to get there. While it was jumping and sometimes sliding through trees, it heard more cries that came from the pack. They were trying to help too. The cries kept getting smaller in time until there was none left. The raptor stooped when a roar that shook the area and left the raptor unsteady came. The raptor knew this roar. It was the victorious roar of the T-rex, as the humans called it, which signaled they won.  
Realization set in on the lone raptor. It ran through the forest to end up in the clearing where the battle had taken place. It stopped short of running into the clearing and couched down in the heavy grass area. It found it's brethren on the ground dead and not one, but three T-rex. One of its pack members had made a mistake and ran into the family. The T-rex looked around for a bit, savoring their victory then went into the forest. The raptor emerged into the clearing to find that every raptor in the pack was killed. Now that its pack was dead the raptor realized that without a good number of pack mates it couldn't defend its territory, it was probably already taken by now. The raptor starts to walk back toward where the human building was hoping to find whatever made the blood scent to find a meal before moving on.  
The raptor came upon the bunker again and ran straight for the door. It took the bar on the inside by using its front claw. The raptor lifted the bar until it slid back to fall off. Once the bar was off it opened the door to hear a heavy creek as it opened. It started to walk down the hallway, its killing claw clicking against the floor every time it took a step.  
It soon came upon the building's interior lobby. It started to sniff around and found that the smell is coming from upstairs. It took one step forward before hearing a high pitched whining sound coming from its right. It turned its head toward the sound and found, what the humans called rope, running through something. The raptor was then lifted in the air in a large net with its body placed in an upward curve. The raptor tried to use its claws to cut the net, but it was too tough. It quickly gave up and just hanged there. Suddenly it heard the sound of footfalls, two sets to be exact. First, it was thumping then clacks and it hit the stairs. It turned its head to see two humans one carrying a bow and the other a rifle at the ready coming down the stairs.  
Tyler and Rick walked calmly down the stairs after hearing one of their traps go off. They were surprised to find they had caught a raptor on the net. They stopped halfway and Rick lowered his bow before leaning against the rail with a smirk on his face. The raptor turned its head toward him and gave a raptor hiss. Then it just proceeded to stare at him. The smirk on his face grew bigger until he proclaimed "Well we caught us a big one."


	2. Unexpected Visitor

: Rick's POV:

Rick gazed at the unfortunate raptor suspended in his and Tyler's trap. The raptor was a dark white color with a gray underbelly. Its claws were pure black, so black in fact that it was reflective enough for Rick to see his reflection in if he got close enough. The raptor continued to gaze at them with silver-colored eyes that seemed to hold a sense of wisdom in them uncommon among other raptors. The only imperfection on the raptor was a gruesome scar that ran from her right eye to the left of the front most part of her head. The scar itself was an inch wide and was a darkened color, indicating it was inflected a long time ago.

"So, what are we going to do with this one?" Rick asked Tyler who stood next to him and was gazing at the raptor with the rifle ready.

Tyler regarded the raptor before them for a while before replying. "Well, we have plenty of food for now, and cleaning all the edible meat off a raptor is going to be a bitch so…I'll just kill it then burn the body," Tyler answered as he took out a machete they had found in the bunker and approached the helpless raptor.

Rick quickly looked at the raptor again before his black, reddish eyes locked with the silver eyes of the raptor. Rick saw the unmistakable look of horror cross the raptor's eyes as it saw Tyler approaching it with the machete, and was that sadness as well? Suddenly Rick knew he could not let Tyler kill the raptor.

"Wait!" Rick shouted just as Tyler got close enough to give a deathblow to the raptor throat.

Tyler stopped before turning his head to gaze at Rick with his dark brown eyes that seemed to be now filled with a dangerous light, burrowed into his own. "Why?" The simple word uttered from Tyler's lips carried an edge in them that Tyler always got when he was about to make a kill. The edge had only appeared after his father's death but it carried enough venom in it to send a chill down Rick's spine.

Rick gathered his courage before replying. "There is no need to kill it, as you said we have plenty of food, and hunters like yourself don't kill needlessly," Rick answered as confidently as he could.

"If we let it go it will bring others from its pack here to eat us," Tyler argued, his voice still has the same edge in his voice.

Rick clenched his fist in nervousness. He knew what Tyler said was true but he felt somehow connected with the raptor, and he knew he couldn't bear to see it killed. 

"Please, just don't kill it, I'll be responsible for the consequences…just please let it go." Rick finished, lowering his eyes to stare at the ground. Tyler seemed to stare at him for an eternity before he let out a sigh.

"Fine, but just so you know this is a bad idea." He finally replied before using the machete to cut the rope suspending the raptor and then backing up and raising his rifle as the raptor untangled itself from the net.

Once the raptor was free it stood there for a minute looking at the two humans before looking eyes with Rick. It regarded him for a moment before lowering its head in what could only be interpreted as a thank you, before turning back to the opened door and running out at full sprint. Tyler quickly approached the door and closed it.

Turning back to Rick after closing the door. "I'll be staying awake tonight, let's get upstairs." He stated before brushing past him and up the stairs.

"Thanks," Rick called up after him.

"…What are friends for?" Tyler replied over his shoulder with a slight smile as he disappeared into the second floor.

: Raptor's POV:

"I can't believe it, humans, on the island! The most hated species had returned to the island, and…they had let me go." The raptor thought as it ran through the jungle.

"What should I do now? I can't go back to our nesting area now that the pack's gone…wait, Angel's pack! They were always nice to us and they even accepted lone raptors before, maybe they'll let me join them." The raptor thought happily as it changed its course and headed toward Angel's pack territory.

: The Next Morning, Rick's POV:

Rick woke up to the morning rays of sunlight filtering in through a skylight above. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and proceeded to get dressed in his usual hunting gear before heading down to the lobby where Tyler waited for him. Turning to a mirror in his room he regarded the reflection of himself.

The soon to be 18 years old was thin from working in the jungle and watching his diet; he was also muscular from said demand for working in the jungle. His white skin was pale from trying to stay in the shadows cast by the large trees in the jungle. His white hair was long and unkempt and covered his eyes. He wore a black raincoat that covered him like a cloak under which he wore somebody armor that they had found in one of the many buildings that littered the island, which protected him from injury while running through the thick foliage.

After descending the stairs to the first floor Rick glanced over at his best friend Tyler as he checked his bow. Tyler stood at 6'1 with short dark brown hair and dark brown eyes that when not looking like they might kill you at a glance held a calmness that Rick found somewhat eased his fears about surviving on the island. Tyler had an athletic build of a sprinter and toned muscles. He wore a black short-sleeved under armor that was very breathable under a dark grey long-sleeved shirt. He also wore brown hiking boots and baggy camouflage pants that had several pockets that various equipment goes in that they may need on any expeditions.

"So, what's the game plan for today?" Tyler asked Rick once he noticed him coming down the stairs.  
Rick thought for a minute before coming up with a plan. "We'll check out the facility we saw last week by the river. We may be able to find some parts for the radio or something else useful there."  
Tyler nodded. "Sounds like a plan, let's get moving then."

The two of them walked out of the bunker and set a course to the complex, unaware of what awaited them there.


	3. Exploration and Welcome to the Pack

: Tyler’s POV:  
After about a two-hour hike from the bunker, we arrived at the facility we were going to check out. The facility looked like it was only one story from the front however, as it was built on a cliff, it had many windows that could be seen looking out at the land from their positions on the cliff face.

"Scientists probably wanted a good view of their creations as they played god." Tyler couldn't help but think as he and Rick approached the facility.

They entered the front door which was slightly ajar, making warning bells go off in Tyler's head, causing himself and Rick to share a glance before pulling their guns (or in Rick's case a bow) off their backs and into a ready to fire position as they entered the facility.

:3rd Person:  
The two humans emerged into what could only have been a lobby-like area, complete with a reception desk with a sign above it that said: "Tours" in big white letters. The two friends made their way over to the desk to search for anything useful.

"Why did they have tours here? I thought site B was the factory floor away from the tourists?" Rick asked out loud as they searched.

"Maybe it was for VIP's or Ingen executives to help show their operation." Tyler shrugged. "Doesn't matter now anyway, they're dead, and Ingen is almost gone because of this whole fuck-up." Tyler answered before noticing a drawer that was labeled, "Audio Tours." Opening the drawer, Tyler found ten audio devices with earphones.

"These could be useful, take the batteries out of eight of them and bag them, we'll keep two of them so that they can tell us what rooms are what to help us scavenge," Tyler told Rick, who nodded before shoving eight of the devices into a backpack they had brought with them. Tyler took one of the remaining two devices and placed one headphone into his left ear before pressing the play button and putting the device into his pocket.

"Welcome, honored guest, to your VIP tour of Ingen's TDC, or Technology Development Facility. This is where our dedicated scientists make future technology to integrate into the park. Please proceed to the room with the red A above the door to begin the tour." The audio device began as Rick and Tyler glanced around before spotting a door with a large letter A above it and walked through the open door.

The two humans walked down a hallway and opened a door on the far side and found themselves on a walkway overlooking a room with test tubes along shelves that were scattered around the room. As the two gazed at the room below them the audio tour continued. "This is the DNA storage facility where scientists keep blood samples from all dinosaur species as well as other indigenous animals found on the island. The DNA in this room is used for analysis and comparison to Species X and possible insight for projects like Utopia, Elipson, and Enforcer. Please proceed to the next room, the Hatchery."

"What the hell is it talking about, Elipson, Utopia, Enforcer, Species X, what the hell were they doing here?" Rick thought as he and Tyler made their way to the next room. "Maybe I don't want to know." He thought as they opened the door to the hatchery.

: Meanwhile, somewhere in the jungle:  
Angel sighed as it watched her pack's two newest additions. The two baby raptors were busy playing with their mother Abba at one of the five nests. While Angel was happy for the new members the fact that there were the only two to hatch out of the 28 eggs that had been laid between four pairs was troubling. For the last four mating periods, the number of live young that were born had plummeted from the usual 18 or on a good year 25 to a measly 2 or 3. When they had 18 or so hatchlings maybe 6 or 7 would survive to adulthood but now with only two young ones the raptor pack now faced the possibility that none of their young would survive childhood.

Angel couldn't help but think that her species was doomed to die as from what she heard all other raptor packs had a similar problem, with exception of the Black-Neck pack that for some reason seemed to multiply and now had over 42 raptors! Angel's pack consisted of only 11, including herself, and the two young ones. Other species on the island didn't have this problem, was her species cursed or something?!

Her pack had done all they could to try and have as many offspring hatches as possible. The females had all been fed well, the eggs had been kept warm and were never left unattended. Angel had even refused to take a mate and have eggs herself so she could hunt and bring back more food for the others. She saw that as her duty as Alpha, not that she couldn't have hatchlings if she wanted to.

Angel was a very fit raptor that was slightly taller than average. She had a gorgeous (for raptors) dark green hide with a tan underbelly with black streaks that went across her back. She had attractive amber-colored eyes that had made a good many male raptors attempt to court her, she hadn't met one strong enough as of yet.

Suddenly one of the four male members of her pack approached her. "Alpha Angel, we found a raptor from the White-Claw pack in our territory, she said that she wishes to speak to you." The raptor stated.

Angel followed the other raptor out of the nesting area and toward three other raptors standing a ways away. Two of the three raptors were two of the other male pack members while the third was a stranger with a dark white colored body and black claws. However, despite her appearance, her scent was that of the White-Claw pack.

"You wanted to speak with me, White-Claw?" Angel said to the new raptor that lowered itself to show respect.

"Y-yes, my name is Lucy, and the White-Claw pack was killed yesterday by a family of T-rex. I'm the only one that survived and heard that your pack accepted outsiders, so…" The raptor, now identified as Lucy, trailed off.

"So you came here to ask to join our pack." Angel finished, to which Lucy nodded.

"Well, while it means we will have one more mouth to feed, our numbers are dwindling to a point where we can't afford to turn you away, especially since we share a border with those filthy Black-Neck raptors. Welcome to the Outcast pack, don't cause trouble and do your part and we won't have problems." Angel said as she began to turn around to head back to the nesting area.

Seeing Angel about to leave, Lucy spoke up "Ummm… Alpha Angel, there was something else I wanted to tell you. I saw a pair of humans living in an old building a few miles to the west."

Angel stopped in her tracks before slowly turning around and looking Lucy in the eye. "Are you sure?" Angel asked, looking intently at her newest packmate.

"Yes, I'm sure," Lucy answered her.

Angel nodded. "Humans! What are they doing here after all this time? Could they be responsible for the low number of young?" Angel thought before addressing Lucy. "Thank you for the news, I believe you must be tired from the trip, here, go and get some food, our hunting group returned a little while ago with some compys." Angel told Lucy before turning to address her three male pack members "Sawtooth, after she has eaten show her around the territory. Luke, go to Abba and help take care of both you're young. Adam, I am going to see these humans for myself, take care of things while I'm gone, and tell everyone there is going to be a pack meeting when I return." Angel ordered, to which the three raptors gave a chirp of acknowledgment before running off to do their tasks.

Angel then turned and ran toward where Lucy had seen the humans. " Let's see if these humans are going to be a hassle or a meal." She thought as she ran toward her destination.


	4. New Possibility's and Fuck Hatcheries

Tyler and Rick stood in a rather ornate office. The hatchery room they had come from had been somewhat of a disappointment as most of the hardware was destroyed from whatever animals had come in earlier and from years of no maintenance, however, Rick had been able to scavenge some parts for the radio and although they still needed more to get the thing running it was a huge morale boost for the two humans.

After the hatchery the audio tour had taken them to the office they now stood in, which was the office for the director of the facility. Red carpet ran from the door to in front of the large wooden desk. Paintings and bookshelves lined the wall making the room look pleasant and visually soothing… unless you counted the dead body in the back of the room. The director of the facility hadn't made it out and instead stayed behind to retrieve something evident by the open safe in the back of the room.

Tyler walked over to the safe, simply stepping over the body on the way without care. Once he reached the safe, he looked inside before turning around and addressing Rick.

"There is some weird stuff in here, check it out," Tyler said while gesturing for Rick to join him. Which Rick quickly did while stepping around the body with only a slight hesitation.

When Rick made it to where Tyler was, he looked inside the safe to discover a set of earpieces, one for the left and one for the right as well as a few different syringes with some type of liquid in them. Also lying on the bottom of the safe was some type of journal, likely the directors. Tyler picked up the journal and began to read after flipping to a random page.

"August 13th: Finally, a breakthrough with project Utopia! After years of painstakingly documenting the different species calls, we have been able to decipher their language! Imagine our surprise when we found that the more intelligent species not only had a language used by all individuals of the species but was also remarkably like all the other species on the island! Using this data we have made a translator device in the form of an earpiece that will translate the sounds of the animals, although the amount that it can translate varies from species to species, we suspect that the predators like the T-rex, and Velociraptors as well as a few of the more intelligent herbivore species like the Brachiosaurus, Triceratops, and Parasaurolophus are likely the best candidates for a near-perfect translation. This is a huge step forward to being able to communicate with the animals, however, we have yet to find a way to enable the animals to understand us." Tyler finished the entry as the two humans gazed at the earpieces in shock.

"T-they made a device to understand dinosaurs," Rick said aloud to reaffirm what he just heard.

Tyler gazed at the earpiece for a few seconds than casually picked up the left one, put it in his ear, and pressed a small button he found at the end. Suddenly Tyler winced and held his hand up to his ear for a second before gradually lowering it.

"Well, might as well see if it works," Tyler said when he saw Rick staring at him questioningly. After his reply, he picked up the other one and repeated the same action with his right ear.

Tyler looked at the book and read another lengthy entry made some time after the first.

: October 15:

"It's done! After a lengthy process of trial and error, we determined that the best way for us to communicate with the animals is to rewrite their biological makeup to allow their brain to automatically interpret human speech. We made the necessary modifications and injected them into the latest batch of eggs however none of the new animals seem to be able to utilize this change. We suspect that it may take one or two more generations of animals for their bodies to become used to the improvements and be able to utilize them. I'll try and convince Hammond to allow us to artificially impregnate the animals so they can have offspring that will be able to utilize the improvements." Tyler finished before closing the book with a look of disgust.

"The greatest minds of our time fucking playing god… they got what was coming to them." Tyler said as he stuffed the book into his backpack then after a moment's hesitation the vials as well, saying, "Might as well."

"So…the dinosaurs won't be able to understand us?" Rick asked.

Tyler gave a thoughtful look before replying "They should… it's been 30 or so years since the incident so the animals had young since then. So, they may understand us. They likely don't notice because of the lack of humans around by the time they were born."

"Then what about that raptor from earlier?" Rick asked.

"Hmmm…maybe, but it was likely to panicked to notice," Tyler answered before looking at a map on the wall that showed what appeared to be a layout of the facility.

The map was very detailed, showing a layout of each floor and the names of the rooms. The two humans decided that they would head toward the armory then over to a large room that was labeled "Hatchery 2" hoping that they would find more parts for the radio. Taking one last look around the office Tyler and Rick set off.

: Meanwhile:

Angel was rather tired; she had found the building that her new packmate Lucy had encountered the humans in and had followed their scent to another building. Now she stood hidden in the foliage debating whether to go inside or wait for the humans to come out. Deciding that she wanted to get back to her pack quickly she made her way inside…

: With Tyler and Rick:

The two humans were now making their way to the 2nd hatchery after they made a quick stop in the armory. To their surprise it had been fully stocked with weapons and ammo, however, due to their rather limited capacity of transportation Tyler was the only one that could take one as he had the room in his backpack for the ammo. He now held a SPAS-12 semi-automatic shotgun and as many rounds, as he could stuff into his pockets and backpack as he could, he had even found some armor-piercing rounds for it lying around the armory. Now Tyler cradled the gun as a newborn baby and Rick could even have sworn he heard him muttering something that sounded like "My precious" a few times.

It was getting rather late in the day as the two made their way to the entrance of the chamber that was at the end of a long hallway to their surprise the door was open and was reinforced steel with no windows and beyond which was utter blackness, that is until they found a light switch. Next to the door was a sign that said **WARNING DOOR LOCKS AUTOMATICALLY PLEASE COMMUNICATE WITH SECURITY ROOM TO OPEN. **

"Since I doubt we'll get an answer if we call please, don't…close…the door." Tyler trailed off as he gazed past Rick's shoulders at something.

Turning around, Rick's heart stopped for a second, at the end of the hall they had just come from and now blocking their way out stood a raptor. The raptor was slightly taller than average and had a dark green hide with a tan underbelly with black streaks that went across its back. Its amber-colored eyes were focused on the two humans standing at the other end of the hall.

Tyler stared at the raptor and said in a low growl so only Rick could hear, "Rick…get inside… and close the door."

: Angel's POV:

It had taken forever to track the human's scent through the complex. Angel had been slightly uncomfortable when she found the rooms with broken egg fragments. However, it's what she smelled all over the building that disturbed her the most, something was here and it smelled… wrong.

She had quickened her pace and had found herself at the beginning of a long corridor at the end of the corridor was a metal door that led to a room that was shrouded in blackness, but also what attracted her attention to it was that the weird smell seamed to radiate from beyond that blackness. Angel knew that she should never go through that door as it led to something that felt like death.

So preoccupied with the door or what lay beyond it was she that it took her a few seconds to notice the two humans on either side of the door. The two were staring at her and backing away slightly toward the door. As Angel met the white-haired one's eyes it saw that it was indeed afraid of her but not as much as she expected from the stories her ancestors had told her about them. Also, in those eyes, she saw what appeared to be a strong will to survive along with a keen mind and determination, something she didn't see in many male raptors. However, when she locked eyes with the other human that had noticed her first she was rather shocked by what she saw or rather didn't see. This human's eyes held a dangerous glint to them that reminded her of a raptor about to make a kill but at the same time also had a keen mind. However what shocked her was that unlike the first human this one was more like an empty shell, he (Angel was fairly sure they were both males) had no will to survive, no look of slight hesitance that all animals, even predators had at the possibility of getting injured. He just stood there staring right back at her.

Suddenly the two humans bolted threw the doorway. "Wait don't…" but it was too late as the door slammed shut.

Angel panicked, she still needed to know what the humans were doing on the island! Quickly, Angel ran toward the exit, maybe there was another way to get to them from outside.

: With Tyler and Rick:

"Wait don't…" a feminine voice shouted as Rick shut the door. The two humans stood there for a second in complete darkness before Rick asked what they were both wonderings. "Did that raptor just talk?"

"I guess these earpieces work after all," Tyler said in a chuckle. "But what was she about to say a..." Tyler stopped as the two heard something scuttling around…in the room, they were now locked in.

The two spun around only to be met by the dark. Fishing out a flashlight they had brought with them Tyler flicked it on and scanned the room. Suddenly something darted across the light's path but before they could follow it the light coming from the flashlight flickered and died.

Silence fell throughout the room for a few moments before Tyler's voice spoke up "Rick…who's turn was it to charge the flashlight?"

"I thought it was yours," Rick responded.

The sounds of scuttling increased as Rick and Tyler met in what they believed to be, the center of the room. By the sounds coming from around them, they had more than one dino to worry about.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuucccccckkkkkk!" Rick thought in his head when the light went out and bathed the room in complete and utter blackness.

The sounds of their pursuers echoed around the room, making it impossible to pinpoint their sources.

"How many you think, 5… 6?" Rick asked out loud, knowing that unlike them their pursuers already knew where they were and could see them fine. Tyler, who at this point was back to back with Rick now, pumped a round into his SPAS-12 shotgun before scanning the room looking for any telltale shadow that could signify their enemy's location.

Suddenly a pair of bright white eyes came into existence in front of Tyler, then another… and another. Soon, dozens of pairs of white eyes were staring at them from every direction.

"I think there's more than that." Tyler deadpanned.

The sound of excited chirping came from all around them. The earpiece in Rick and Tyler's ears translated it into a chorus repeating one word that made both shudders, "Food."

Just after that, a shadow shot toward Rick so that now he could see a mouth full of sharp, dagger-like teeth.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuccccccckkkkkkkkk!" Rick could not help repeating to himself as he brought the rifle he was carrying around and prepared for the fight of his life.

BANG! Rick fired a round directly into the set of oncoming jaws, sending its now-deceased owner flying back into the darkness. Behind him Tyler shot off a round at a target approaching him, spattering the thing's brains out of what little remained of its head and sending the body back as well before he readjusted his aim and shot a second target to his right.

Rick caught movement to his left and quickly brought his weapon up and fired a round at a shadow, before being rewarded with a pained cry from its owner.

"We have to get out of here, there are too many!" Rick shouted as he popped another target that was moving to his right. Tyler, who had taken out another two targets and had just finished reloading, nodded before taking a hand and fishing out a canister from his left thigh pocket. Pulling a pin, Tyler shouted, "Look away!"

Just as Rick looked away from where Tyler had thrown the canister a bright flash accompanied by a small concussion came from where he had thrown the canister. Thanks to the brief flash of light, both Tyler, who had also turned around to look away from where he had tossed the flashbang, and Rick were able to make out another door on the other side of the room where they had come in that could be pushed open. Without a second thought, the two raced for it as the pained screams of their pursuers rang out from the effects of the flashbang.

When the two reached the door, Rick, who was slightly ahead of Tyler threw it open and the two glimpsed a sliver of light at the end of a corridor that revealed a set of stairs.

"Fucking go for it!" Tyler yelled as the two raced toward the stairs.

When the two reached the bottom of the stairs they saw that at the top was an open metal door from which daylight shined through. The two humans began to madly dash up the stairs, the sounds of their pursuers reaching them coming down the corridor.

As the two made it to the doorway something jumped onto Tyler's back as he leaped forward through the door, closely followed by Rick who turned around and slammed the door shut and sliding a heavy-looking bolt lock across and through a latch in the wall, locking it.

Turning around, Rick was greeted with the sight of Tyler standing and breathing hard over a red-colored dino with white eyes that had no pupils and would stand (if it wasn't currently on its back) at about 3 feet tall with sharp teeth. However, the intimidation factor of the reptile was significantly reduced thanks to the machete sticking out of its chest.

The dino was letting out pained squawks as Tyler stepped over it before putting his shotgun in its mouth and pulling the trigger. "Yea, fuck you too," Tyler said out loud as he removed his machete from the now headless dino's chest.

Tyler looked over at Rick before giving a slight tired smile "Seriously… fuck Hatcheries," and without another word the two very tired humans began the walk home, without noticing the raptor hiding in the brush a ways away, studying them with her amber eyes.


	5. A New Friend

: Angle's POV:

After the two humans had left the clearing Angel stepped out of the brush and examined the mystery dino. After giving an experimental sniff it suddenly dawned on her what this creature was.

"A pale-eyed one!" Angel thought, stories of these creatures portrayed them as night stalkers and were whispered amongst the various raptor packs as hunters that preyed upon any raptors that wandered away from the nesting areas alone. It was also a great story to make sure hatchlings behaved. While she, like many other raptors, had heard the strange chirps in the night she had never actually seen what caused them.

Angel regarded the pale-eyes for a moment before looking at the door one of the humans had locked. "If the only the door I was at before and this one are the only ways for the pale-eyes to get out then…" Angel turned to the forest where the humans had disappeared. "Those humans just stopped the threat of the pale-eyed ones." Angel thought, amazed that two humans could unknowingly cause such a big change on the island.

Angel gazed at the sun and noted its low position in the sky, indicating that it was getting late. Deciding she should probably get back to her pack she started to make her way home, mentally telling herself to keep an eye on the humans that just did all of the dinosaurs on the island a favor.

: Meanwhile with Rick and Tyler:

"I fucking hate the jungle!" Rick thought as another branch scratched his face.

Both he and Tyler were about halfway to the bunker, but because of their fatigue, they weren't being as careful as they usually would be.

In front of him, Tyler was stumbling through the brush, muttering curses at all of the roots that nearly caused him to stumble.

Not only did they have a rather long walk to get to the compound but also their lengthy tour of said compound, the fight for their lives, the running for said lives, and now the long-ass walk back had caused even their impressive stamina to diminish to a point where the only thing keeping them going was the promise of comfortable sleep in the bunker upon their return.

Rick breathed a sigh of relief when they stumbled upon a clearing they could take a short break-in. Just as the two were about to sit down and rest their legs a deep sigh accompanied by a warm breeze hit them, causing them to slowly turn to the cause. What greeted them was the sight of an adult male T-rex lying down in front of the two humans gazing at them.

He had a very dark-colored hide with a lighter version of the color on his underbelly. He had white claws and a scar running along from the middle of his spine on his back that circled to a spot between the points of his collar bones which looked like a big hole was caused there. His big yellow eyes bored into the two humans in front of him.

: Tyler's POV:

"Man, mother nature is being a bitch today!" Tyler thought as he calmly whispered to Rick. "Don't move…his vision's based on mov-"

"I already saw you move human, I can see and hear you." The T-rex said in a monotone voice.

"Well, shit, there goes that plan." Tyler thought before he noticed that the T-rex hadn't attempted to attack them yet.

The T-rex regarded them for a while without moving. "Well… as interesting as it is that I can understand you, could you please move along, I'm not in the mood to eat or talk to you." The T-rex said in the same monotone as before.

"I take it back, Mother Nature, I Love You!" Tyler mentally cheered in relief when suddenly Rick stepped forward and asked. "What's wrong?"

Tyler looked at Rick in agitation. "Damn your sentimental side, Rick, he just told us he doesn't want to talk to us so let's not try and piss off the large carnivore with large teeth who is only, like… 15 feet away from us!" Tyler mentally scolded Rick.

The T-rex simply looked at Rick for a moment before replying. "My family… my mate and son… they're dead." The T-rex finished in a whisper.

That statement caused Tyler to look at the T-rex with a look of sympathy and understanding, after all, he had lost the last of his family when his dad died, so he could understand what the guy was going through.

"What happened to them?" Rick asked.

"They were murdered by a rival, he was always jealous of what I had! A family, more strength, more hunting ability…he did it to get back at me, the cur!" The T-rex finished in a roar that startled several birds into taking flight and causing Tyler to take a wary step back, but Rick stood firm. The T-rex calmed down again before continuing. "I made it my purpose in life to hunt down the mongrel and kill him, which I did, but now my life has no meaning so now I wait here to die and join my family."

"You can't just give up like this! You still can live a happy life!" Rick argued.

The T-rex chuckled, "You remind me of my son, always trying to cheer me up and argue with me when I was moody… but no, human, this time I just wish to join my f- Arrgghhh!" The T-rex roared in pain as Rick stepped up and kicked him hard in the cloaca. 

Tyler's eyes widened and his jaw hit the ground. "Oh, fuck! That's it, we're dead. This is going to be hard to explain at the pearly gates, Hi, my name's Tyler and I died because my friend walked up to a T-rex and kicked it, basically in the balls! They'll likely send me to hell on principle!" Tyler thought in a panic.

Before either Tyler or the T-rex could do anything more Rick spoke up. "Is this what your family would want? For you to just give up on living and lay around in sorrow waiting to die!" Rick shouted. "No! They would want you to try and keep living and find happiness! If you're so concerned about having a family then… well, you said yourself that I remind you of your son so I'll be your family!" Rick finished.

Silence reigned around the clearing.

"… What?" Both Tyler and the T-rex thought.

The T-rex stood up and looked down at Rick below him, a glint coming into his eyes.

"Aaaaannnnnnndddd we're dead." Tyler thought morbidly as he heard the T-rex letting out a deep growl, however soon the growl turned into a sound that was like a chuckle and then full out laughter.

"Hahahahaha…Oh, I like you human, very amusing." The T-rex said after it stopped laughing. "I suppose that my family would want me to keep living, for them as well as myself." The dino reasoned before leaning down so that he was lying down again. "Come on, hop on, I'll give you a lift home."

"Tyler too?" Rick asked.

"…Who?" The T-rex looked over to see Tyler standing there and his eyes widened as if noticing him for the first time. "Oh, yes, didn't notice you there. Sure, you hop on too."

"…Fuck you." Tyler thought as he gave a glare to the T-rex but joined Rick in climbing onto the T-rex's back.

The T-rex stood and after some directions from Rick started walking toward the direction of the bunker. "My name is Rick, Rick Stanton… yours?" Rick asked from the T-rex's back.

"Scar… so tell me, what brings two humans here?" The now identified Scar asked.

"Well, it all started when the ship we were on sank…" Rick began.

: A half-hour later:

The two humans and one T-rex stood in front of the bunker, Rick had spent the trip telling Scar about his and Tyler's stay on the island so far and about the earpieces that allowed them to understand dino language as well as their mad dash to escape the strange dinos in the compound.

They now stood outside the bunker after getting off Scar's back. Scar looked around the area. "Not bad… I may sleep here from now on…if that's alright with you." Scar asked, gazing at Rick and Tyler.

"…Sure," Tyler said after giving it some thought. "Not many dinos would try and approach a T-rex, even one that was sleeping. Having him here could keep animals away!" He thought.

"Of course, feel free to crash here anytime you want," Rick answered before yawning. "Well, I'm tired, I'm heading to bed, see you in the morning," Rick said as he made his way to the door, unlocked it, and walked inside.

: Scar's POV:

Scar laid down near a small stream that ran near the bunker's right side, the same one that Tyler and Rick fished from, and laid down to sleep before he noticed Tyler standing in front of him, looking him in the eye.

"Something you need?" Scar asked, wondering what Tyler could want.

"I just wanted to tell you that Rick was serious about his offer to be your son. I can tell you could use someone like that and also he could use a father figure right now." Tyler paused, looking back toward the bunker's entrance. "I've done the best I can but I'm more of an older brother-like figure at best and a somewhat dangerous stranger at worst. So for both your sakes, consider accepting his offer and treat him as a son. Just a suggestion." Tyler finished as he began to walk away.

Scar was shocked by the sincerity in Tyler's words. "Maybe he is nicer than I originally thought." Scar thought before Tyler stopped and turned back around.

"Oh, and if you ever try and harm Rick, I don't care how big you are, I will kill you and mount your head above the door as a warning to others." And with that, Tyler walked to the door and went inside, closing it behind him and leaving Scar alone.

"…Or maybe not." Scar thought before he shook it off as he laid his head down and drifted off to sleep.


	6. Adopting…By accident

: Outcast pack nesting Grounds, 4 days later:

Angel woke up from another peaceful sleep which she had enjoyed the last four nights. Once she had arrived from following the humans four days ago, she had been bombarded with questions about the human presence on the island. Lucy had told the others about the humans she had met and expectedly many of her packs were concerned that the humans were here to capture their young. Angel couldn't fault them for their concern, with the few numbers of young and the stories of young raptors disappearing they had heard from other packs they had valued reason to be worried.

Their fears however were lessened when Angel had told them how the two humans had rid them of the Pale-eyed ones by locking them inside a compound with no way out. The pack was ecstatic that they wouldn't have to listen to the frightening chirping that plagued them at night and the white eyes that they sometimes caught staring at them in the shadows. They had celebrated with a feast of freshly caught compys, during which they also officially welcomed Lucy to the pack. Their well-fed bellies helped lure the entire pack to sleep, listening to the natural sounds of the jungle around them.

The next day however came around and their pack was facing a crisis. One of Abba's two hatchlings named Tiv had wandered away from the nest during the night. Abba was a wreck, staring sadly at her nest where just the night before Tiv had slumbered. Her remaining hatchling stood beside her chirping for her brother. Angel left two of the packs' other females and Luck to console Abba and protect the nest site, meanwhile, Angel and the 5 other raptors made their way through the jungle following Tiv's trail.

: At the Bunker:

Tyler woke up groggily to another sunny day… in a predator infested hell hole of an island with little hope of escape, but it was a hell hole he had become accustomed to. While he prepared to leave he thought back on the events of the last four days. During this time Rick had often accompanied Scar when the T-rex went hunting, the two had hit it off right away and much to Tyler's relief had developed a father-son relationship that significantly helped their mindset. While the two were doing that Tyler had made a few trips back and forth from the complex they had barely escaped from and brought back more ammunition, an AK-47 assault rifle, and more documents about the goings-on of the island. Rick hadn't asked about what was on the documents either due to lack of interest or because of wanting to spend more time with Scar, however, Tyler found them very interesting and enlightening. He also promised to bring some of them up to John Hammond if they managed to get off the island.

Tyler made his way outside the bunker and into the jungle to begin hunting, noticing on the way that Scar was gone, likely hunting again and that Rick was likely with him since he hadn't seen him in the bunker. Tyler made his way to a small river where he found a tree that gave him a good view of the shore and waited for something to come to drink.

: 30 minutes later:

Tyler was still waiting in the tree when he noticed something wash up on shore from the river; looking closer, Tyler realized that it was a baby raptor.

The raptor had a tan hide except for its back that was a crimson red that ran from the base of its tail up to the top of its head. The raptor was very young, only coming up to Tyler's calf when standing, which right then it wasn't… instead, it was lying motionless on the riverbank.

Tyler glanced around and deciding that the coast was clear he climbed down the tree and made his way over to the dino. When he was next to it he crouched down and prodded it with a finger and much to his surprise it stirred before looking up at Tyler with half-lidded eyes. "Daddy?" it chirped in a weak male voice before falling back asleep due to exhaustion.

"Poor little thing is exhausted and probably cold from the river and with it being cold-blooded and everything it'll likely die soon unless I help it." Tyler leaned his head back and groaned. "It just had to call me daddy, didn't it…man, I'm getting soft. Note to self: blame Rick for making me soft." He thought as he quickly gathered up the raptor after tucking in his shirt and placing the raptor between his under armor and the sweatshirt he had on so it could warm up faster. Tyler looked around. "Where did this guy even come from?" he asked aloud before deciding to head back to the bunker and think about what to do.

On the way back to the bunker Tyler felt the little dino stir and peak its head out from the collar of his sweatshirt before looking up at him. "Who you? What your name? Where am I? It feels nice in here. Do you have food? I am hungry. Where mommy Abba?" The baby raptor asked in an excited voice.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there, slow down, my name is Tyler and I'm human, as for where you are, I found you washed up on the river bank and I put you in my shirt to get you warm faster…what's your name?" Tyler asked after a moment of thought.

"I named Tiv! Momma Abba and Pappa Luke talk 'bout human with Alpha Angel and new packmate Lucy. Alpha Angel watches humans, don't know why… not for food, me hope, big bro Tyler nice. Tiv no wants to eat. Big bro Tyler, Tiv stay where it feel nice?" Tiv asked.

"Umm, sure, you can stay in the shirt, as for food I'll get you some in a bit, you like compys, right?" Tyler asked, to which Tiv gave an elated chirp. "Yea! Compy, compy!"

"Well, that's a yes… and I'm big bro Tyler now?" Tyler thought, seeing Tiv's reaction before he remembered what Tiv said. "So, this Alpha Angel has been watching us has she…it is she, right? Wonder if it's the same one we saw in the compound or the one Rick caught in the net?" Deciding to question Tiv about this later the duo finally arrived at the bunker. Making his way in without setting off the traps Tyler made his way over to the food storage area and retrieved some of the compy meat they had in storage. "We'll have to go hunting and catch a few more, we're getting a little low." Tyler thought as he cut the meat into small pieces and began to feed it to Tiv who happily ate it while staying in Tyler's shirt.

After Tiv had eaten his fill Tyler decided to question him. "So, Tiv, where is your momma Abba?"

Tiv looked at him a moment before replying. "Momma Abba at nest, I want to explore so left. I got lost, fell into cold water. Can Tiv go home now, Tiv miss Momma Abba, Pappa Luke, and sister Liz?" upon hearing this, Tyler began asking Tiv what his home was like, and through some genius detective work on Tyler's part, he discovered that the nest was about a two-day trip North.

Tyler looked at Tiv whose head was peeking out from his shirt and sighed. "Yep, I am getting soft." He thought as he wrote a note to Rick and placed it on the door to the bunker. After collecting some supplies he looked up at the sun and he saw that it was still fairly early and thus he began his adventure of returning Tiv to the nest.

"Big bro Tyler, we there yet?" Tiv asked.

"Fuck, this is going to be a long trip." Tyler thought as he cradled his new AK-47 and made his way into the jungle.


	7. The Value of Family

: With the Raptor Search Party:  
: 5 hours earlier:

The Raptors were resigning themselves to the fact that Tiv was likely dead. They had searched but found no sign of the hatchling. They had followed Tiv's trail to a river to a spot where the pack would use a fallen tree that reached across the river to cross only to find that said tree had collapsed. Even though they had hoped otherwise all had little doubt that Tiv had likely been on it when it collapsed.

Abba and her remaining hatchling were next to hysterics and seemed to be in depression ever since they had heard the news. Tiv's sister Flower cried herself to sleep alongside her mother with a noticeable space in the nest left unoccupied next to them.

The sight of the heartbroken mother and daughter filled the raptors with grief and they resolved to have one last search for Tiv.

: On the Island's Coast:  
A boat sat anchored just off the coast nearby, a group of 6 people stood gazing at the jungle in front of them. The group was comprised of burly men with camouflage jackets and pants, every single one of them had some form of a firearm and enough ammo to wage a small war. Behind them sat a few empty cages that they had just finished unloading from the ship. On their jackets was the word INGEN in bold yellow letters.

The group had landed on the island the day before with simple orders from their employers, capture a dino at any cost. The pay for this particular job was two million US dollars… each.

"Let's get on with it." One of the hunters said in a gruff voice. The rest of the group nodded and made their way into the jungle, disappearing amongst the trees.

: Current time:  
: With Tyler and Tiv:

"Must…not…strangle…little…annoyance!" Tyler tried to control himself from attempting to murder Tiv who had asked if 'they were there yet' for the 57th time in the last hour.

The human and baby raptor had been walking for a few hours now with the only form of communication being Tiv asking "Are we there yet?" and Tyler responding with a "No" every time while trying to get through the dense foliage of the jungle and ignore the bugs that bit him constantly. Normally Tyler wouldn't have been bothered by these things however the constant questions from the little raptor that currently rested inside his pack and whose head was sticking out to observe the scene around him, was frying Tyler's nerves. The only thing at this point that was keeping Tyler sane was the knowledge that they were getting fairly close to Tiv's packs nesting area… according to Tiv.

"Hey, big bro Tyler…?" Tiv said in a questioning voice like he was about to ask a question.

"I swear for the love of god… if he asks 'if we are there yet' one more time…"

"Are we there yet?"

"That's it! He's a shish kabob!" Tyler snapped, however, before he could turn around to confront the little dino, Tiv seemed to sniff the air before shouting.

"Pack! Pack! I smell pack, Alpha Angel and new friend Lucy close!" Tiv announced happily.

"Thank God!" Tyler thought in jubilation at the prospect of Tiv not asking if they were there yet again. Tyler turned to Tiv and addressed him. "How close are they to us?" Tyler asked.

Tiv sniffed the air a bit more before replying. "Were here but moving away…that way!" Tiv announced, pointing his snout off to Tyler's left.

"Well, we better catch up to them then, huh," Tyler announced as he redoubled his efforts to make progress in the direction Tiv had indicated.

: With Outcast search party 1 hour earlier:  
Angel, Lucy, Luke, Sawtooth, and the two other female pack members Mist and Star had been searching for Tiv for 4 hours after leaving the nesting area. Currently, the group was resting before they would resume the search.

Lucy felt like her powerful legs were as stiff as the branches of a tree, her dark white hide had never been useful at blending in so she had never been called to hunt much and was thus not as fit as the other raptors. She gazed at her reflection in her reflective black claws and saw how tired she was, her white hide was marred by scratches here and there from running through the brush and not being careful and although they wouldn't scar they were still irritating, all in all, she looked tired although this didn't take away the fact that among raptors she was considered a beauty. Lucy looked up from gazing at her reflection and took a moment to regard her new packmates who were resting around her.

Angel sat 5 yards to her left, resting her powerful and sleek green and black striped figure, seemingly untouched by their prolonged venture through the jungle. Lucy had noticed that out of all the raptors there Angel was the fittest, her powerful frame showing strength while still being sleek in appearance which was proved to be a testament to how quickly she moved through the brush, deftly avoiding branches and roots that the others could not. Her amber-colored eyes were closed, taking a short reprieve before they continued the search.

Across from Lucy and facing away from her was Sawtooth who was cuddling next to Mist, his mate. Sawtooth had a brown hide and tan underbelly, his teeth had a jagged appearance to them for which he was named. He was the youngest member of the Outcast pack at around 15 in raptor years but was the most energetic, not including Tiv.

His mate Mist was one of the most docile raptors Lucy had ever known, she was always friendly and had a very soothing and calm personality which was complemented by her dark blue hide and teal colored eyes. Although she and Sawtooth were technically mates they hadn't mated yet due to Sawtooth's young age.

A little way from them was Star, who was Adam's mate and the last female member of the pack. Star had a dull grey colored hide that was common amongst many raptors but the trait that made her stand out was her bright yellow eyes that seemed to radiate warmth but scared the dung right out of you if you saw them staring at you from the jungle at night.

Shifting her gaze to her immediate right, Lucy's heart ached at the sight of Luke. Luke was sprawled out a little further out from the others, gazing forlornly out at the jungle as if hoping his missing son Tiv would leap out of the jungle, run up and nuzzle him. He had a dark blue hide and white underbelly but the blue had seemingly lost most of its luster and his green eyes showed the inner turmoil and anguish he felt.

Deciding to try and relieve some of the raptor's misery, Lucy spoke up. "Don't worry, Luke, we'll find him," Lucy spoke in a soothing voice.

Luke turned to Lucy and gave the raptor equivalent of a small smile. "I hope so Lucy, it's just… you should have seen how happy and overjoyed Abba was when two of our eggs hatched. With the way things were going with the low amount of eggs that hatch every mating season and year after year of our clutches being… failures, we had given up hope that we would be able to raise our own young." Unnoticed by the two, Angel seemed to flinch, Luke continued. "I had started to think that maybe it was me… was I not doing something right, was it somehow my fault that we had no young! By doing that caused Abba and the rest of the pack to work to provide the best conditions for hatching our eggs, for my mate to get her hopes up only to see her crushing disappointment when it was all for not." At this point, Luke closed his eyes at the pain of those memories.

After a while, he continued. "Then one day it finally happened, we had been blessed with two hatchlings… a little boy, Tiv, and a little girl, Flower. Oh, you should have seen the joy in Abba's eyes that first day as she nuzzled them! We finally had a family and we thought things were perfect, then this, one of our hatchlings just…gone. The look of Abba's when she realized…" Luke looked down and closed his eyes again to control his raging emotions before looking up with determination in his eyes. "I can't let my mate experience more anguish, Lucy, I have to find my son." Luke's voice changed to one of determination.

Lucy let a sense of relief wash over her as Luke seemed to fill with a new sense of purpose. Suddenly she felt something fast collide with her side accompanied by a sharp sting on her left flank.

Attempting to get up, she was floored by a sense of wariness that seemed to flood her system and prevent her from moving, feeling her eyes close against her will as she heard a loud bang and the sound of Angel's shout.

"Sawtooth!"


	8. A False Hope of Rescue

"Just…a little…further." Tyler thought as he made his way through the jungle toward where Tiv could smell his pack went. As the pair made their way through the dense foliage a gust of wind brought anew scent to both Tiv and Tyler that made the both of them stop for a second before Tyler quadrupled his efforts, crashing through the jungle to make it to the pack after all the coppery scent of blood is not one that can be confused after being exposed to it as long as Tyler has.

In his mad dash, Tyler suddenly found himself in a clearing about 20 feet in diameter, however, it was the scene within the clearing that captured the pair's attention.

"S-Sawtooth," Tiv said in a stunned and grieving voice as they regarded the remains of a single male raptor before them. The brown hided raptor's body was covered in his blood, which was not surprising since the left of his chest looked like it had imploded.

"Stay here for a sec," Tyler said as he gently took Tiv from his pack and placed him on the ground at the clearing's edge then made his way over to the body. Upon inspecting the body Tyler instantly knew a few things; one, that whatever killed the raptor wasn't another dino as the wound didn't look like it had been made by either tooth or claw. Second, the raptor had been flung a short distance by an impact as the raptor hadn't landed correctly and broken one of its arms. Lastly, the raptor had not died immediately and suffered for a few seconds from a broken arm as well as no lungs or liver and a completely exposed chest as the heart, vertebra, and head were all undamaged which unfortunately suggested the raptor lived for a few seconds before expiring.

"Poor bastard." Tyler thought, feeling sympathy for the dead creature. As he observed the area around the body he noticed that the raptor and a few others had been resting here based on how the grass was being pressed down where they had laid. From the traces, they had been abused and had been taken out rather quickly by what Tyler knew was a group of at least 4 humans judging by the boot prints. It was then that Tyler noticed the drag marks indicating that the humans had taken all but one of the animals. The one they hadn't taken was apparently left to die as Tyler could see a trail leading into the brush that indicated the raptor had broken its leg and had dragged itself away in the direction Tiv had said his packs nesting area was, however, Tyler doubted the raptor would make it.

"Tiv, hop back in," Tyler called to Tiv who slowly made his way over to Tyler while casting sorrow-filled glances at the body of his deceased pack mate before crawling into Tyler's pack which he had lowered to allow him access. With Tiv securely in place, Tyler put his pack back on and made his way back into the brush, following the injured raptor "First I'll return Tiv, and then I'll track down these guys and see about getting me and Rick off this island." Tyler thought as he made his way through the brush quickly in pursuit of the wounded raptor. Suddenly Tyler felt something wet hitting the back of his neck, casting a glance over his shoulder Tyler saw Tiv with his head poking out of his pack looking forward and with a clear substance coming from his eyes.

Turning back to look where he was going Tyler couldn't help but think about the sight he just saw "Huh… I didn't know dinos could cry."

: With Rick and Scar:

Rick was having an amazingly good day. Why you may ask? Well first, he could ride around on Scar's back so he didn't have to struggle through the jungle … which was awesome. Secondly, he was learning from Scar who was teaching him how to identify all the different dinosaur tracks and where all the different dinosaurs territory was so Rick wouldn't get killed by accidentally walking into a raptor pack's territory…which was awesome. He was also benefiting from the perks of having a T-rex as a father-like figure, meaning no dinos would fuck with him when Scar was nearby…which was really awesome. Rick hoped Tyler was enjoying himself as much as he was but somehow doubted that was the case.

Yep, right now Rick's life was good until he and Scar stumbled upon a footprint that Rick didn't need Scar's help to identify. The size 13 hiking boot was easily distinguishable in the mud heading in the direction of a known herbivore waterhole. Since Scar couldn't go anywhere without alerting practically anything of his approach and Rick not wanting to scare his potential rescuers away, Scar waited in a clearing as Rick followed the track into the jungle.

: Back with Tiv and Tyler:

Tyler had been following the injured raptor's trail for 15 minutes before finding the raptor resting in a clearing. The raptor had a dull grey hide and bright yellow eyes; it also had a gash along its left leg that looked broken. The raptor was currently lying down, likely too tired to continue on the injured leg.

As Tyler inspected the raptor from the brush surrounding the raptor's clearing he felt the wind shift to where he was now upwind of the raptor who took a sniff of the air before its eyes widened then quickly snapped shut as the raptor remained perfectly still with its eyes closed but still tense.

"Clever girl is trying to lure me out by playing dead." Tyler thought in admiration at how quickly the raptor had come up with its plan." Allen Grant was right, these things are god damn smart." Tyler made his way into the clearing but before he could address the raptor, Tiv decided to intervene.

"Aunt Star!" Tiv shouted as Tiv jumped out of Tyler's pack and ran to the injured Raptor now identified as Star.

Startled by the sound of Tiv's voice, Star's eyes shot open as her head turned to see Tiv jump from the human's pack and run toward her. "T-Tiv!? Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you." The female raptor said as Tiv came up and nuzzled snouts with her.

"I fell in water. I swam for a long time then big bro Tyler came and saved me. He made me all warm and fed me compy! I love compy!" Tiv said as he soon went into a rant about how much he loved compy that the older raptor and Tyler only half-listened to as they were busy inspecting each other.

The two continued to stare at each other before Tyler gave a half-wave. "Uh…yo?" **(…What, what would you say to raptor who was staring at you!)** Silence descended on the clearing as Tiv was now looking between the raptor and human. Suddenly Star's head shot back. "It talks!"

"Yes, and Tiv likes compy, now that everything obvious has been stated can we get to the part where I check your leg?" Tyler replied in a bored but serious voice.

"It can understand us!" Star exclaimed.

"I thought we were done stating the obvious?" Tyler said in a deadpan.

Star's posture shifted as she readied herself to try and protect Tiv from the human as best as her injured condition would allow. "Tiv, get back, this human will kill you!" She commanded the hatchling.

"No, he won't! Big bro Tyler saved Tiv, he won't hurt Tiv because we family!" Tiv said in a cheerful voice.

"No, Tiv, he's a human, they will wait 'till you are tired then will kill you like they did Sawtooth!" Star shouted as tears threatened to spill from her eyes at the mention of her dead pack-mate.

However, Tiv walked between her and Tyler, who hadn't moved throughout this whole exchange before replying. "No, Big bro Tyler not like other humans, big bro Tyler no hurt Sawtooth. Tyler best big bro ever, he good human!" The baby raptor said in defense of his friend, likely thinking that he was protecting his 'big bro,' completely unaware that Tyler could kill them both with two shots from his shotgun.

Star regarded the human for a few moments before seeming to relax slightly. "…Fine, but I will be watching you, human!" Star hissed, to which Tyler gave a nod before slowly approaching the raptor to examine her leg.

Star tensed as the human approached and bent down to examine her wound. She felt her hide tingle at the alien feeling of his hands running over her leg examining the severity of the injury. After a bit the human looked up from his examination to observe the clearing, they were in.

"Well, thankfully it's not broken, just badly sprained, you're lucky though, if you manage to stay off of it for a while it will be healed in a week or two," Tyler said as he looked about the clearing before finding a fallen tree branch and ripping one of his sleeves off and fashioning a make-shift splint. "You will be defenseless out in the open like this, we need another raptor to carry you back to your nest as I don't think that splint will hold your weight if you attempt to stand on your leg. How close are we to your nest?" Tyler asked Star.

"… It's not far, a little bit in that direction." Star said, pointing her snout to the east. "However, I can't make it there on my leg, it's also too dangerous for Tiv to go alone and you can't go there because the pack would rip you to pieces. We have to save the others!" Star resolved.

"Don't you mean I have to save the others?" Tyler said in a resigned voice only to see the two raptors confused looks before explaining. "You can't go anywhere with your leg like that and I don't think heading into what I suspect is a poachers camp with a baby raptor is a good idea for said baby raptors safety. So, yes, I have to save your friends." Tyler explained before he stood up and stretched a bit before addressing them. "Stay in the clearing, I'll be back with your packmates…hopefully." Tyler declared as he turned around, slinging his pack over his shoulders and readying his SPAS-12 shotgun.

Star watched in amazement as the human that was risking his life to help herself and her pack disappeared into the jungle.


	9. Meeting the Pack

: With Rick:  
Rick could not believe what he was seeing, in front of him, standing at the edge of a large clearing were two humans! Both humans were armed with high powered rifles and were dressed in fatigues and facing away from him. One was covering the other while he looked through a pair of binoculars at the large river that passed through the clearing where herds of herbivores were grazing.

Deciding to confront the two, Rick stepped out of the woods behind them, causing the two to spin around, drawing their weapons, however, they stopped themselves from firing when they saw another human standing before them.

Rick tried to reassure them. "Hey, am I glad to see you, it has been a long time since I have seen a friendly face!" Rick said with a small smile as he held his gun with one hand pointing into the air while holding the other hand up to show he wasn't a threat. His attempt failed.

"Drop the gun! Hands where we can see them!" One of the two humans yelled as both raised their rifles and aimed at Rick's chest. Rick obeyed and dropped the rifle he had been carrying, while also noticing the INGEN logos on the side of their fatigues. As soon as he noticed the logo his demeanor changed.

"Why the hell is INGEN here?" Rick thought as he carefully regarded the two INGEN workers that cautiously made their way over to him. Once they were close enough one of them kicked Rick's rifle away so he would not be able to grab it. The other than close the distance between him and Rick then kneed him in the stomach, causing the wind to be knocked out of him and collapse to the ground, then the INGEN employee grabbed him and threw him into a nearby tree. As Rick tried to regain his senses the INGEN employee tied him to the tree before his partner lowered his gun, now feeling confident that Rick posed no threat.

One of the two men approached Rick and grabbed him by his hair. "Who are you?" He asked in a gruff voice.

"Rick Stanton," Rick replied.

"What are you doing here?" The man asked while pulling Rick's hair, sending the message that Rick should not lie.

"I had a boating accident two and a half months back. Been here ever since." Rick replied.

The man seemed to regard him for a while before asking in a cold voice. "Is there anyone else here?"

Rick was not going to answer but then he felt something that caused him to smile. "Yea, my father figure is here with me."

"Where is he?" The man bellowed before striking Rick with the butt of his rifle, creating a cut on Rick's cheek. Rick grunted in pain before he felt another tremor… much closer than the last.

Rick gave a small smile. "Oh, he's close, and he won't be too happy when he sees me tied up and injured."

The man that had been interrogating him smirked. "What could one man-" the man started to say before he was interrupted by his partner. "Did you feel that?"

Not a second later the trees fifty yards away parted to reveal none other than Scar in all his seven-ton, 13-foot tall glory. Scar saw the three humans and noticed the blood on Rick's cheek. Suddenly Scar leveled a glare at the other two humans that could melt tank armor with the amount of fiery hate they held within them.

"Don't move." The INGEN employee that had been interrogating Rick whispered. "Its vision is based on movement."

Just then Scar drew his head back and released a bellowing roar of "GET AWAY FROM MY SON!" directly at the two INGEN employees who only heard the defining roar of one of the most feared dinos on the island.

Rick smiled at what Scar had shouted before turning back to the two humans and said. "My father figure says hello..." To which the two humans looked at him in shocked disbelief which was interrupted by a shorter roar from Scar. "NOW!"

Rick smirked again at the two INGEN employees and, in the coldest voice he could muster, said. "… and goodbye." Just as Rick finished saying this, Scar started running toward the two men who tried to run but didn't make it.

One was crushed under Scar's foot, killing him instantly. This left Rick's interrogator to scramble another five feet before Scar's jaws descended and bit the entire top portion of the man from the stomach up. The man was then lifted screaming in pain into the air where Scar shook him around a few times, tearing the man apart and ripping him in half, sending blood and guts everywhere. Scar threw what was left of the man into the jungle and then gave a victorious roar into the sky.

"Bad…ass." Rick thought as he watched the spectacle. His attention was then caught by the sight of approaching storm clouds blowing in from the coast. Deciding it would be best to hurry home, Rick called over to Scar who was walking back to him. "Sooo… how do I get out of these ropes?"

: With Tyler:

Tyler crouched on top of a small hill overlooking the camp the poachers were using. Above him the storm clouds released gallon upon gallon of water down to the island below, already Tyler was soaked to the bone and although he should have been freezing, he didn't feel cold.

Tyler was in what he could only describe as the hunter mode, a state of being where he mentally blocked off all other distractions and focused solely on a single task. The current task that Tyler was occupied with was carefully regarding and assessing the camp below him.

The camp had three large tents in the center of the camp that was surrounded by metal cages of various sizes on the North, East, and South sides of the camp. The west side was the beach along with a patrol boat that was anchored close to the beach, probably used to evacuate quickly if they needed to escape the camp. The cages seemed to have been arranged in three different rows around the camp, most of them were empty however from where Tyler crouched he could make out what looked to be three cages that were occupied based on the varying noises coming from the camp and when one of the patrolling poachers would look into them at their occupants. From what Tyler could hear he could hear one of them was a Stegosaurus.

The poachers themselves were mostly centered around the camp. One of them was working the radio in one of the large open tents, Tyler decided to call him Techy. Another poacher was standing behind him and giving directions, making Tyler believe him to be the leader of the group, because of his bald head Tyler called him Chrome-Dome. There was one man in another smaller tent that was used as the groups sleeping area, he was lying on a cot getting some shut-eye, Tyler called him Sleeper. One man was on the patrol boat smoking, Tyler thus called him Smoker. Two other poachers were patrolling the camp individually, one of them Tyler called Sniper because he was carrying a Dragunov sniper rifle, and the other he called Country because of the cowboy hat he wore.

"Looks like I will have to go down there and find them." Tyler thought as he could not tell which cage held the raptors. Without a second thought, Tyler began to make his way down toward the camp.

: Lucy's POV:

The first thing Lucy was aware of was the concerned voice of Angel trying to rouse her. "Lucy…Lucy, wake-up!"

Lucy slowly was able to open her eyes to see the concerned look of her new Alpha, Angel, staring down at her. "Come on, you have to get up, humans have captured us," Angel told her, causing Lucy's body to kick start and her senses come back to her. Lucy looked at the cage she and the rest of her packmates were trapped in.

The cage itself stood at 8 feet tall and 8 feet wide, it was big enough that all her packmates and her could fit inside although there was not much room to walk around. The cage's walls were grey and solid on three sides with bars at the side that opened, however, the spaces between the bars were too small for a raptor to fit its head through. Looking around, Lucy noticed that two of her packmates were missing.

"Where are Star and Sawtooth?" Lucy asked.

Angel looked down with a feeling of sorrow in her eye. "Star was injured in the humans' ambush, they left her to die in the jungle. Sawtooth…Sawtooth didn't make it." Angel said in a pained voice at the loss of one of her pack mates. Lucy glanced over at Mist who was in the corner of the cage staring at the ground and not reacting to anything that was happening. Before Lucy could go over and try to console her, rattling was heard from the direction of the cage bars.

Lucy, Angel, and Luke who was standing beside Angel turned to see a human standing in front of the bars, giving a smug smirk at the raptors. "I can't believe I was worried about coming to this island." The human stated, which surprised the raptors as they could understand what he was saying. "I heard all this talk about the big scary dinosaurs and especially about the super dangerous velociraptor but look at you lot now! You aren't so scary now, and I killed that other raptor friend of yours no problem in the clearing!" The male human boasted.

Mist's head suddenly shot up with a look of rage set on her features. "DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT HIM! I KILL YOU FOR KILLING HIM!" She shouted as she threw herself at the bars of the cage.

The human simply laughed at the enraged raptor's attempts at killing him. "Stop you screeching lizard, you can't touch me because you're in there and I'm out here and that cage will make sure you can never get to me," the human said before a new voice originated behind him "but I can."

Before the man could turn to find the one that spoke the raptors saw another human seem to materialize out of the shadows from between two containers and grab the man's mouth to silence him before plunging a large blade through the man's back to come out his chest. 

: Normal POV:

The poacher tried to scream in pain as he clutched at the machete blade protruding from his chest, but his screams were muffled by the hand over his mouth. Suddenly the hand-pulled him down while the machete was removed. The hand brought him down to the ground on his back, above him he saw the dark outline of a human clutching a machete in the air aimed down at him before the shadowy figure plunged it into his throat and severing his windpipe.

As the man tried hopelessly to breathe, he subconsciously noticed that the figure had removed the hand over his mouth and stood over him. The last thing he saw was a face that was briefly illuminated by the first lightning strike of the storm above them, and the eyes of his killer that showed a glint of pleasure at his death and then he knew no more.

Tyler watched as the last of life left the man, he called Country as lightning flashed off to the right and the boom of thunder resounded off the camp as if signaling his first human kill. At this point, Tyler expected some remorse to come into his mind like many people said happens, but it never did, the only thing he felt was how surprisingly easy it was to kill the man. Shaking the feeling off, Tyler pulled his machete out of the dead man's throat before turning to the cage with the raptors in it.

Lucy and her pack could only stand there silently and stare at this human that had come out of nowhere and killed the other. The human took its blade from the other’s neck and looked over at the raptors. The two groups stared at each other for a while before the human broke the silence.

"Uhhh…Yo?"


	10. The Raid

: Tyler's POV:

Tyler could not believe it, his first encounter with a pack of raptors that weren't trying to kill him, and his opener was yo!? "I need to work on my social skills." Tyler thought as he searched Country's body and found a set of keys. Looking up, he saw that the raptors were still staring at him without moving. Tyler steadily approached the cage and tried the keys only to find that none of them worked. "Damn, none are the right key." Tyler cursed silently.

"One of the other humans had it." A female voice spoke up in front of him from the cage. Looking up, Tyler came face to snout with a raptor that was inches from his face." I didn't even hear her move." Tyler thought impressed as he regarded the female raptor before him in detail.

The raptor was an adult that probably would be in her mid-twenties if she was human, based on the fact that she didn't have any of the usually wrinkled hide around the arms that occurred when a raptor reached mid-life. Her hide was dark green with a tan underbelly and black streaks that went across her back. She had a very sleek appearance, indicating she was likely very agile and fast but also had excellent muscle structure which indicated she was also fairly strong. The other raptors seemed to give her some distance which seemed to indicate that she was the pack's alpha.

Remembering Tiv's long rant about his pack, Tyler realized this must be. "Alpha Angel," Tyler could only agree with his assessment as this raptor was one of the most intimidating ones he had ever seen on the island. Tyler looked up at the raptor's eyes which were an amber color and was taken by surprise by what he saw in them. Tyler believed one could tell a lot from one's eyes and what Tyler saw in this particular pair was a deep protectiveness, likely for her pack, as well as some loneliness which was almost hidden but what mesmerized Tyler was the last and most prominent attribute he saw in her gaze. What he saw was a burning desire to live that seemed to be like a giant bonfire and brought a subtle light and intensity to her gaze that made Tyler break away eye contact.

"Did you see which one?" Tyler asked as he gazed down at the keys he pocketed, trying to avoid the female's gaze. Tyler remembered that he once held a similar look in his eyes when he had a reason to look forward to the next day, however, now his eyes held a cold hollowness that had taken him unprepared when he had glanced at his reflection in a puddle while out hunting. The reason he couldn't bring himself to have eye contact with the raptor in front of him was a feeling of shame and inferiority that he felt toward himself when under the gaze of the raptor before him.

Tyler heard a gasp from one of the other raptors in the cage before Angel spoke in an unsure voice. "You understand what I'm saying?"

Tyler gave a nod while tapping the device he and Rick both had a copy of. "Yea, with some help, but more of that later, which human had the key to your cage?" He asked while turning to look at the interior of the camp.

Angel gave a nod. "He was tall but lacked any fur on his head."

Tyler gave a nod. "Alright, Mr. Chrome-Dome it is then." He thought as he readied his shotgun and sheathed his machete. Without turning around, Tyler spoke over his shoulder. "Be back in a bit, be ready to leave quickly," Tyler announced before he took off at a jog to the center of the camp.

: Angel's POV:

The human took off toward the center of the camp after promising to be back. Angel turned to her pack mates. "Alright, you heard him, be ready to go when he gets back."

"Why should we trust him, he's human, one of them. They killed Sawtooth, we should just kill him and the rest of his kind." Mist stated from her corner of the cage.

Angel rounded on her. "We have to trust him, he is one of the ones that ended the terror of the pale-eyed ones. He has shown that he is not with these humans, just look at the body in front of the cage if you need a reminder of that!" Angel snapped, causing Mist to lower her head with a whimper. Angel relaxed at seeing Mist cower. She hadn't meant to be as aggressive as she had just been and had to remind herself that humans had just killed Mist's mate, she had a right to be upset.

Angel sighed. "I know you are upset, Mist, but you can't judge all humans based on the actions of a few. If this was the case then the humans should be able to kill all of us for when the Black Stripes killed all those humans in the tall grass all those years ago." Angel stated as she regarded Mist's reaction.

Mist looked deep in thought before she looked up again. "You are correct Alpha Angel, I apologize for my comment, but how do we know he will release us."

Lucy who had remained silent spoke up. "He was one of the humans that caught me in the human building then let me go, I think he will keep his word."

The pack reluctantly agreed before turning back to the cage door and waiting for the human. After waiting 10 minutes they were beginning to question whether or not the human had decided to leave them when they heard shouts, gunshots, and the bellow of a Stegosaurus on a rampage. "It looks like the human is attempting to-" Angel was cut off when a roar echoed throughout the area that sent a chill of fear down the pack's spines. The roar belonged to the Spinosaurus, one of the most feared predators on the island, Angel could only pray the human hurried or all of them would be dead.

: With Tyler:

Things had officially gone to FUBAR for Tyler. He had taken out the other sentry, Sniper, silently, and had crept closer to the main camp but couldn't find an opening to take any of the remaining poachers out without alerting the others. He had made his way over the other cages and discovered two other dinos had been caught. One was like he thought, a Stegosaurus who he believed to be male, he unlocked its cage and moved on to the next dino that turned out to be a young Parasaurolophus around a teenager in human terms of age.

He had approached the female dino and inspected her, she came up to his shoulders when on all fours and had a pink coloration on its crest along with a light blue down its back with the rest being a dark grey. As Tyler approached he saw the young dino asleep when she had heard him approach and open her eyes. The emerald orbs that regarded him at first had held fear and curiosity however as Tyler explained that he was releasing her she thanked him profusely before shuffling off into the woods.

Then thing went to shit, Tyler had again snuck close to the center of the camp and again after seeing no opening decided, "screw it" and simply walked out into the opening. The poachers had simply watched in stunned silence as Tyler walked up to Chrome-Dome and shot him point-blank with his shotgun.

Tyler had fully expected to be blown apart in the next few seconds but apparently, Mother Nature finally decided to give him a break in the form of a pissed off Stegosaurus. The Stegosaurus came from between two cages and charged right through the camp's communications tent, sending Techy running for his life only to be killed by a spiked tail that impaled his body and then flung it over some cages.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Tyler leaned down over Chrome-Dome's body and after a short search found a set of keys. With only two poachers left, being Sleeper and Smoker who was on the boat, Tyler made his way over to the largest tent in the area to see if he could find any useful supplies. Once in he had been surprised to see the large form of a Spinosaurus held down by large metal beams controlled by an electronic lock.

Tyler knew, he just knew that what he did next was probably the most inspired act of stupidity ever conceived by man… he unlocked and retracted the metal pylons by inserting a key from the set he got from Chrome-Dome and pressing a green button on the electronic control mechanism began the process of retracting the beams.

However Tyler didn't stick around, he had quickly made his way over to a set of supply creates when he had heard the sound of gunfire from his right. Diving behind a small four-foot-high metal crate, Tyler realized that Smoker had decided to get into the fight and was opening up with a .50 caliber machine gun from the safety of the patrol boat. As rounds impacted all around the supply crates Tyler remembered a memory from his childhood.

: Flashback:

A six-year-old Tyler sat down in a clearing in the woods, before him stood a large man that had been teaching him survival tips for the past week. The man was an acquaintance of his dad and had offered to look after Tyler for a week while his dad was hunting in Africa. The man's name was Chayton **(Shout out to fellow badass Chayton created by ****old chuck****)** and he was into country music, particularly Johnny Cash, who Tyler had been forced to at least appreciate as he wasn't really into country.

"Now remember, Tyler…" Chayton had lectured "…the key to any survival situation is an understanding of your surroundings. Take the time to see what you can use around you because nine times out of ten there is something nearby that can help you survive."

: End Flashback:

Tyler, remembering the advice, glanced around the supply containers, and saw his salvation. No more than 10 feet away propped up against another create was an RPG, likely brought for use against some of the larger dinos on the island. However, Tyler couldn't get to it while Smoker was shooting that .50 cal at him.

Suddenly a roar echoed throughout the camp and the large tent was ripped off the ground as the Spinosaurus stood to its feet. Smoker, seeing this alpha predator get to its feet, adjusted his aim to the dino when he saw it bit down on Sleeper who had just emerged from between two cages, bisecting him at the waist.

: Current Time:

Tyler saw his chance, lunged toward the RPG before grabbing it, and removing the safety pin. Setting it on his shoulder Tyler looked down the weapon as he aimed it at the patrol boat where Smoker was laying into the Spino, causing it to roar in pain from the barrage of lead. Tyler steadied his aim and then pulled the trigger. Smoker turned just in time to see Tyler aiming the RPG at him and then a plume of smoke came from the back of the weapon as the rocket-propelled grenade shot out toward him. Before he could bring himself to try and escape the projectile the round impacted the patrol boat near the fuel tank, reducing the craft to a large fireball as the sound of the explosion resounded around the camp.

Gazing at the fireball for a few seconds, Tyler looked over toward the Spino who was gazing at him. The Spino regarded him for a couple of seconds before lowering his head in what Tyler believed was a nod of acknowledgment before turning around and retreating into the jungle.

Tyler sat there in the rain, catching his breath for a minute before getting to his feet and making his way back to the raptor pack's cage. On the way, the physical exertion of his recent activities caught up with Tyler as he felt a wave of weariness wash over him, and pain shot threw his left shoulder from a graze he received from the .50 cal but he trudged on.

After a couple of minutes, Tyler arrived back at the cage housing the raptors and began to unlock the door. With a click, the door unlocked and Tyler opened the door and stepped back as the pack made its way out of the cage.

Tyler watched as the raptors walked by him when he noticed two had stopped. One was the Alpha Angel and the other was a raptor that Tyler realized was the same one that had walked into him and Rick's bunker.

"Thank you, human, for releasing us. However, I must ask, why did you?" Angel asked with an inquisitive look on her face.

Tyler shrugged "I promised Tiv I would."

"Tiv! You have seen my son!?" A male raptor asked with an excited voice.

"This must be Tiv's father, Luke." Tyler realized. "Yea, I left him with Star about 2 miles east of here, he's fine."

Angel regarded him for a second before bowing her head, shocking her pack mates. "I thank you for helping the hatchling and my pack, if there is anything you need, I-" Angel was cut off by Tyler.

"Don't mention it… ever," Tyler said as he turned and began to make his way toward the jungle. "Just go get Tiv and Star and take them back to your nest, it's dangerous out there." He stated as he disappeared into the jungle.

: 3 hours later Midnight:

Tyler arrived back at the bunker to a very bizarre sight. Scar was laying down next to an uprooted tree that lay on its side with Rick tied to the trunk. "What is it with today?" Tyler asked himself as he approached Rick who looked at him with a sheepish smile.

After cutting him down with his machete, Tyler began to make his way over to the bunker door. "Explain why tomorrow," Tyler said over his shoulder to Rick.

"Uhh…ok. How was your day?" Rick asked, all he got was a weary groan as Tyler entered the bunker to fall to blissful and merciful sleep.


	11. Trust

"Aannnddd it's weird." Tyler thought as he lay on the rightmost side of the nest with his back turned to Mist who was sleeping on the far-left side of the nest and as far away from him as she could get. Despite both of their attempts at creating space the two were only two inches from each other and thus the level of unease the two felt was only barely lessened by the space. Neither of the two had slept at all as Tyler was waiting for the raptor to attack him and Mist was trying to not get closer to the human despite his natural body heat being an enticing reason for her to move closer. After a minute or two Mist gave an involuntary shiver as a cold breeze swept through the nest area. Tyler sighed before he announced in a whisper. "You're cold." The way he said the announcement made it sound more like he was just stating a fact than asking her if she was cold.

"Hmph, I'll be fine, human." Mist announced before she gave another shiver as another gust came through.

"No, you won't, here..." Tyler said as he scouted closer to Mist until most of her back was against his and enough body heat was being transferred for her to be comfortable. "I don't need your help, human." Mist hissed as she turned to look at Tyler with a glare even though she noted that the heat from his body made her much more comfortable. "Why do you hate me? I didn't kill your mate." Tyler asked without looking over at her. "I know it's not my place to tell you this but you need to move on. Hell, you just yelled at your pack alpha awhile ago, that kind of behavior would have gotten you killed in other packs."

"What do you know of loss, human?" Mist said in an angered voice. However, her anger left her suddenly when Tyler quickly turned his head and looked Mist in the eyes with a glare of such anger that it caused Mist to shiver again, but this time in fear.

"I know plenty about loss, raptor," Tyler stated in an icy tone that could freeze one's soul. "However, unlike your sorry self, I have learned to move on. Something you need to do as well, if you want to continue living, that is." Tyler stated before he slowly turned back around to face away from her.

Mist was silent as the shock she felt at seeing and hearing the raw emotion in the human's voice and eyes. Eventually, the shock settled, and with a bit of hesitation, Mist asked the same question she had been trying to answer since Sawtooth's death. "H-how do I move on?" She asked in an almost pleading voice to the silent human.

Tyler didn't speak for several seconds and Mist was beginning to think he wouldn't answer but just as she gave up hope she heard him say in a calm tone "You find yourself a goal, something you can live for and die for."

Mist blinked before she lowered her head. "But I don't have any goals to live for." She replied in a resigned voice. "Then borrow someone else's." Mist's head shot up as she looked at Tyler, who was still facing away from her, in bewilderment. "Huh?" was her intelligent reply. "If you have no goal to strive toward then help someone else achieve theirs." Tyler elaborated. "Take up someone else's and if that succeeds take up another one. Keep going until you find something for you to strive for." Tyler looked back over his shoulder and locked eyes with the stunning raptor. "If you do that, you will find a reason to live, or die helping another, either way, it will be better than wallowing in self-pity." Having said his peace, Tyler turned back around but Mist was now left with another question, one she wanted the answer to.

"What do you live for, Tyler?" Mist asked the human who had just given her a spark of hope for finding future happiness. Tyler sat up and looked over at Mist as if contemplating whether to answer her before shrugging and nodded his head over to Rick's prone form. "For him." At Mist's questioning look he elaborated. "I'm the one that invited him on this trip. It's my fault he is stuck here on this island and my fault if he dies. He wants to get off the island, that's his goal, so since I don't have anything to live for anymore, I'll live to see him get off this island." Tyler finished explaining.

"What about yourself, don't you want to get off the island and live?" Mist asked, to which Tyler shrugged and lay back down with his back to her. "That is so low on my priority list it doesn't even register. So long as Rick gets off the island my safety is irrelevant." Tyler said in a low voice before drifting off to sleep. Mist could not help but feel a little sad for the human but also saw the logic behind his mentality. Deciding to try his approach she settled down to sleep, resting her side against Tyler's back, for some reason doing so seemed right. A few minutes later Mist fell into the first nice and nightmare-free sleep she had in days. Both the human and raptor didn't notice their entire conversation was heard by a certain female alpha who looked sadly at Tyler, remembering what he said before heading to her nest from her concealed position in the jungle.

Rick never thought the first time he would sleep with a girl would be in a nest surrounded by jungle. Then again, he never thought the girl would be a raptor either. This was a fairly new experience for him as he did have a girlfriend back home named Lisa but she was a bitch who cheated on him and used him for his family's money. Rick had just broken up with her before going with Tyler and Dan on the trip that got him stuck on the island.

When the two first had gotten in the nest it had been a little awkward so the two had made some small talk which somehow became a discussion on relationships. "I just don't see it happening, Rick," Lucy stated in a depressed tone. "In my old pack the males were all jerks and now that I am in this one everyone's really nice but already taken. It just feels like fate is telling me I'll never find a mate." Rick was sitting cross-legged next to Lucy who was lying down with her head in his lap. As he listened to Lucy's comment he gave her a reassuring rub on the top of her head. "I know how you feel, Lucy, back home I was never too popular with girls, and the one girlfriend I had was a real bitch and after dating her for a month I ended up breaking up with her."

Lucy raised her head in surprise. "What? Why weren't you popular amongst the females of your home?" Rick sighed before answering. "Well, where I come from a lot of the girls were shallow, not all but a lot. They either were with a guy for money or as a trophy to show off to their friends with. Now, given a lot of guys were the same way but back home it just seemed like everyone was obsessed with having meaningless sex with someone for a night before moving on to the next person. I wanted to find someone I cared about to be in a relationship with. It also didn't help that I was considered about average in the looks department and was considered as a weirdo for not trying to hook up with anyone."

"Hook up?" Lucy asked questioningly.

"Having sex," Rick explained.

"Wait, you mean others would mate with someone who wasn't their mate?" Lucy asked in a surprised and appalled tone as if the very idea was horrendous.

"Yeah, not all people are like that, mind you, but most were. So that is why I'm not the best at the whole finding a mate thing." Rick finished.

"But you're so nice! I can't believe no one saw that! I would have asked to be your mate as soon as I could!" Lucy stated before she realized what she just said and blushed which appeared as a slight reddening on her usually white hide just under her eyes and down her snout.

"Subtle... where did that come from?" Tyler wondered at the sudden thought that entered his head as he looked around the silent area surrounding him before shrugging and going back to sleep.

Rick looked at the blushing raptor in amusement "Oh... would you now?" Rick said in a teasing tone before he gave a slight smile and looked at Lucy with a thankful gaze. "Thank you, and I would date a girl like you in a heartbeat," Rick admitted with a slight blush.

"R-really?" Lucy asked in surprise, with her blush growing.

Rick's face reddened, causing him to turn away so Lucy wouldn't see. "Y-yeah, of course, even though I've only known you for a really short time I can tell you're caring and upbeat. You're considerate of others and despite you not having an easy life you're trying to make the best of it and try to make others happy. A girl like you is one in a million and any guy would be lucky to have you." Rick stated as he turned back around to face Lucy when he got control over the blush on his face. Lucy just stared at Rick in shock, nobody had ever complimented her like that before. In a moment of bravery she didn't know she possessed, Lucy darted her head forward and caught Rick's lips in what Rick had described was a human version of a kiss earlier in their conversation.

Rick sat there in stunned silence as Lucy kissed him. Surprisingly he found himself enjoying the kiss and quickly became lost in the pleasant feeling it gave him. After a few seconds that seemed like an hour to Rick, Lucy retreated her head and looked him in the eyes. "Thank you," she stated her gratitude for his earlier comment shown in her eyes. Rick nodded his head slowly while not breaking eye contact. "N-no problem." The two stayed there, gazing at each other for a couple of minutes before Rick averted his eyes in embarrassment. "W-we should probably get some sleep," Rick announced as he lay back down on his back.

"Y-yeah," Lucy replied as what just occurred between them hit her. Lucy decided that she wanted to sleep a little closer to Rick than she had originally planned and rested her side along with his while placing her tail on top of his legs and her head on his chest with her snout ending just below his chin. "Goodnight, Rick," Lucy stated in a teasing voice before closing her eyes.

Rick allowed a contented smile to form on his face while he closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Lucy." And with that, the raptor and human fell asleep even closer both physically and emotionally than they had awoken that morning.

The rays of sunlight filtering through the jungle canopy above were what awoke Rick from his blissful slumber. Dew was still clinging to the flora and ground around him but he quickly shook off what little was on him before standing and stretching out the soreness from his body. Looking around, he noticed that Lucy was gone and likely getting breakfast which made him realize he hadn't eaten in a while either. Searching through his pocket he found a small map and looked for a place he and Tyler could raid for food on their way back to the bunker. After a glance, he realized that the compound he had been meaning to check out for the last couple of days was on the way and would only require a 15-minute detour to reach. Putting the map away, Rick began to walk back toward the center of the nesting area, has decided to look for Tyler and the raptors.

As he arrived at the center of the nesting area he saw Tyler leaning against a tree looking bored and Jagger standing before him and by the looks of things trying to threaten him, keyword, try. Kava, Jagger's mate was standing meekly in the background looking like she didn't want to be there. As he got closer Rick was able to make out what was being said "...and that's why you should stay away, human." Jagger hissed, Tyler just raised an eyebrow at the black hided raptor's attempt at intimidating him.

"I don't see why I have to listen to you, raptor. Last time I checked, Angel was the alpha of this pack, so does that make you her bottom bitch?" Tyler asked in a mocking tone.

"How dare you insult me, human?! Do you not realize that I could easily kill you?!" Jagger shrieked.

"Kill me of boredom, maybe, go try and act tough somewhere else, Jagger, before I decide to see if I can make a raptor hide belt." Tyler finished with a glare that made Jagger flinch before the raptor and stalked away.

"This isn't over, human. Come on, Kava!" Jagger hissed over his shoulder. Kava gave an apologetic bow to Tyler who responded with an understanding nod before she turned and followed after Jagger.

"What was that about?" Rick asked as he came to stand next to Tyler.

"Jagger wanted us to stay away from the pack. Seems to think that we aren't worthy of being near raptors or something equally as stupid. Angel and the rest are out hunting." Tyler explained before looking over to Rick with a smirk. "So, how was spending the night with your girlfriend?"

Rick faltered for a second before stuttering out a response. "W-what?!"

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, it's blatantly obvious that you two like each other. I would be surprised if the other raptors hadn't picked up on it yesterday."

Rick scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "It was... nice. I honestly haven't slept that well in years." Tyler cast Rick a glance before looking back into the forest. "Not even going to try and deny the whole girlfriend thing?" Rick looked up at the sky through a gap in the trees. "Not really, in all honesty, I wouldn't mind that. Take away the fact that she is a raptor and you have a personality that I would want in a girlfriend." Rick stated. Tyler looked at him for a second before shrugging. "Well, you know her better than I do and it's your life so who am I to judge," Tyler said. Rick gave a smile while not taking his eyes off the sky. "Thanks, Tyler."

"What are friends for?" Came a reply before the two settled into silence and waited for the other raptors to return. After two hours of waiting Rick and Tyler now found themselves walking through the jungle back toward the bunker this time, however, Angel, Lucy, Adam, and Kava were escorting them back. As the group made their way through the jungle Adam and Angel were questioning Kava as to the whereabouts of her mate Jagger as when the raptors had returned from hunting he was nowhere to be found. According to Kava he had been in a rage after his confrontation with Tyler (the subject of said conversation angered Angel who decided to discipline Jagger later) and had stormed off into the jungle.

Suddenly the group came to a stop as a unique smell wafted over them. Taking a whiff, Rick identified the smell. "Sulfur?" Just as he said this a series of blurs suddenly shot out from the undergrowth and pinned Tyler, Lucy, and Rick to the ground. Having being pinned on his back to the ground by a large clawed foot, Rick opened his eyes to see a male raptor with an all tan hide and a black streak running down his back pinning him with its killing claw poised to strike. Tyler and Lucy were in a similar position as him and Angel, Adam, and Kava were stopped from aiding them by three other raptors who stood between them and the pinned trio. "Black stripes!" Angel hissed as she crouched into a ready stance. "What is the meaning of this! You dare trespass into our territory!"

"Now, now, now, Angel, is that any way to treat your new alpha?" A male voice spoke up as a large raptor made his way into the clearing. His hide was much like his fellow pack members but apart from numerous scars running all over his body. He was heavily muscled, and his yellow eyes seemed to glow with an insane gleam that sent a shiver down one's spine.

Angel's eyes widened in shock and her pupils dilated in fear of the new arrival. "Vesh?! What are you doing here?" Angel asked in a frightened voice. Tyler, who was thinking up ways to kill the raptor pinning him in different fashions, each ending with varying amounts of dismembered raptor body parts, couldn't help but be surprised in the frightened tone of the normally strong-willed female.

"Well, after all this time I've finally decided to take your pack's territory for my own. Admittedly I couldn't have done this without first subjugating you. I couldn't simply kill you or your fellow pack mates would never accept me as their new alpha and there is also what your dear old father would do if he found out I killed you." Vesh stated, which made Tyler wonder about the whole father comment. "and so, I decided that I needed to get you to submit to me and then your little packmates would fall in line and I wouldn't have to fear about possible repercussions. But how would I do this, I asked myself, how would I get the legendary Angel to bow her pathetic head to me?" Vesh told in a snide and mocking voice.

'That's right, just keep up your monologue you little bastard.' Tyler thought as he searched for a way to escape this situation. He had been midway through drawing his shotgun out before he was pinned and now the weapon was beneath him, however, Tyler believed that he could pull it out and fire around if he was quick enough. Looking over to Rick, Tyler saw that the hunting rifle rick had was laying just out of his reach and if not for the raptor pinning him he could have easily grabbed the weapon, suddenly a plan formed in Tyler's head. Catching Rick's eye, Tyler stared at him before his eyes flickered to the rifle, the raptor pinning Rick, his shotgun, and the raptor pinning him. Rick glanced around a bit before giving a slight nod that went unnoticed by the raptors who had their attention on Vesh and Angel.

Vesh continued his monologue. "And that is when I received a pleasant surprise when I was approached by one of your members! Come on out here!" Vesh yelled to which, out of the underbrush, emerged none other than Jagger. Tyler heard Kava gasp and admittedly wasn't too surprised that Jagger betrayed them. "This one here told me how you seem to have a soft spot for these humans here and that you would be with them heading off to their home. So I decided to simplify this for you, submit to me and acknowledge me as your alpha or I will kill these two humans and your newest pack member." Vesh announced.

"Don't forget our deal, Alpha Vesh. Angel has to become my mate and I am given a beta position in your pack." Jagger stated, causing another gasp from Kava.

Angel at this point was in full alpha raptor rage mode and was desperately trying to stop herself from eviscerating Jagger on the spot. "You already have a mate, you pathetic sack of compy droppings! I would never willingly be your mate!" Angel shouted in a rage.

Jagger sneered before giving a dismissive snort. "Please, Kava means nothing to me, you on the other hand are a stunning female and are much more suited to be my mate than that pathetic female. Ahhhh, the nights we are going to have together. Oh, and yes, you will be my mate… or the humans die. If you resist or refuse me in any way I will kill them in front of you. You seem especially fond of that one, Tyler, was it?" Jagger said as he made his way over to Tyler who was waiting for the perfect moment to begin his plan.

"Wait, don't-" Angel tried to say but was cut off by Tyler's groan of pain as Jagger stepped on his right side and sank his killing claw into his right shoulder. Tyler managed to stop himself from screaming in pain but let out an agonized groan as he glared daggers at Jagger.

"Just a little longer." Tyler thought as he readied himself to enact his plan.

Jagger sneered down at the human before removing his foot from Tyler's now bleeding shoulder and walked back over to stand beside Vesh before addressing Angel again. "Now, chose their lives or your happiness."

Angel looked resigned as she looked over the situation. Tyler, Rick, and Lucy were pinned and likely unable to help with Tyler also now wounded. Adam was in a ready stance next to her but was outnumbered by three other Black Stripes standing between them and Vesh who was near the pinned trio. Kava was mentally breaking down and was staring at Jagger with eyes full of heartbreak, betrayal, and sorrow. In total it looked like it would be her and Adam against three black stripes and Vesh, Jagger, and the three pinning Tyler, Rick, and Lucy. Not very good odds. Angel locked her gaze on Tyler who was still pinned beneath the foot of his Black Stripe captor. She saw the wound on his shoulder bleeding heavily and a pained look on his face which, despite the pain, still held defiance in it. It was the sight of the wounded human that made up her mind. Angel couldn't let Tyler be killed. "I-I s-submit-"

Suddenly a deafening roar broke through the clearing, causing all of its occupants to look toward the direction it came from. "Now!" Tyler thought as in one quick motion he pulled the shotgun out from under him and fired a slug at the raptor pinning Rick to the ground. The slug hit the raptor in the upper chest area, piercing both its lungs and throwing it off of the human.

Rick quickly rolled over and grabbed the Remington off the ground before putting three shots into the neck of the raptor pinning Tyler before adjusting his aim and killing Lucy's captor via a bullet to the brain as it turned to look at him, hearing the gunshots. All of this was done in less than two seconds and was only possible because of the human's proximity to their targets. As the surviving raptors realized what had just occurred a loud roar again sounded throughout the clearing, followed by the large form of a male Spinosaurus bursting from the tree line and clamping its jaws around one of the Black Stripe raptors standing between Angel and Vesh. "Run!" Tyler shouted, having correctly determined that the situation was now FUBAR. Anyone that still could break off into the forest, all heading away from the agonized cries of the Black Stripe before it was silenced by the spino.

Rick and Lucy made their way through the undergrowth, having put as much distance between them and the spino, unfortunately, they had gotten separated from Tyler who had taken off in a different direction. Now the two found themselves in front of a medium-size clearing about 50 yards in diameter. From the tree line to their right emerged Angel, Adam, and Kava who, upon seeing the two, quickly made their way over to them. "Are you both alright?" Adam asked, concerned

Lucy nodded. "Yes, we are both fine. Did you see Tyler on your way here?"

Angel looked down in shame. "No, we had to run, too quickly to see what happened to him, but I think he took off after Jagger."

"WHAT!" Lucy exclaimed in shock. "Is he insane?" to which Rick replied instantly with a "Yes" causing all present to sigh. Suddenly from the trees on the other side of the clearing emerged Jagger, who looked a little haggard along with the two remaining Black Stripes and Vesh.

"Jagger!" Angel shrieked in anger as she readied herself to attack. Jagger, upon seeing her and Rick, tried to attack the human but just as he made it halfway across the clearing he was tackled and pinned to the ground by a silver blur that turned out to be Kava.

"Worthless am I?" Kava said in a hushed voice that still carried throughout the now silent clearing. "A pathetic female am I?" Kava continued as she dug her killing claw into Jagger's side before working it around the wound, causing the raptor to screech in pain.

"K-Kava, darling, I didn't mean it, I- AHHH!!!" Kava cut off Jagger's apology with another twist of her killing claw. Rick noticed that Vesh and the other two Black Stripes had left the clearing, fleeing from the now organized Outcast pack and leaving Jagger to his fate.

"I gave you everything! I gave you my loyalty, my confidence, my love, everything! And you betrayed me, you threw it all away and for what, a position as beta? To mate with Angel!?" Kava said as she continued to wrench her claw into Jagger, all the while crying at what Jagger had done to her. Rick would have gone up and comforted her if she wasn't... you know, murdering someone right then. "Well, look at what that has gotten you, Jagger!" Kava shouted, before pausing to catch her breath.

Struggling through the pain, Jagger tried again to plead with the angered female. "K-Kava, my mate, I was forced to do it, Vesh-"

"Shut up! You already made it clear you never considered me your mate so now I will make it official! Jagger, I, Kava of the Outcast Pack with Alpha Angel, beta Adam, and pack mate Lucy as my witnesses do hereby renounce you as my mate and swear to never mate, talk, or interact with you again!" Kava announced, before standing up and walking away from the downed raptor. "The only reason I'm not killing you is that I don't want to further stain my claws with your blood. Goodbye Jagger" Kava announced with her head lowered while looking at the ground with tears falling from her face.

The other raptors stood there in shock. In raptor society, it was almost unheard of for a mated couple to separate and much less a female revoking a male. However, by doing so before her pack's alpha and beta, Kava had officially done something that most raptors would frown upon. If word got out, and somehow it always did, Kava would be a disgrace to other raptors, regardless of what Jagger had done.

"Y-you BITCH!!!" Jagger yelled, before getting up and charging at Kava, whose back was turned, intending to kill the female.

BANG!!!

The sound of a gun went off, quickly followed by the sight of Jagger's head evaporating to a fine, red mist before the body fell to the jungle floor.

"That was for the shoulder, asshole," a voice said, making the group as one turn to see Tyler walking out from the treeline, with smoke still coming out of the barrel of the SPAS-12 shotgun held in his left hand.

"You're ok!" Angel shouted in relief before seeming to teleport next to him and examining his now bandaged shoulder wound. "Is your wound alright?"

"Y-yeah, it will need some stitches when I get back but no real issues," Tyler stated, somewhat surprised by the alpha female's worry. Returning his attention to the others, Tyler saw that all seemed to be okay before Kava and himself locked gazes before the female gave a nod of thanks to which he returned. "I think we should keep moving, no telling when the spino will decide to-"

"ROOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!!"

"Ahhh, fuck me," Tyler stated as the trees on one side of the clearing parted and not one but two spinos came into the clearing. "...Double fuck me," Tyler stated as the male of the two saw the group and began to charge toward Tyler, who was the closest.

However, his charge was then only to be stopped by the other female spino, who swatted him with her tail lightly upside the head. "Stop, you idiot brother, it is him that we seek!" The female spino stated in a surprisingly normal-sounding female voice that wasn't deep like one might think. If Tyler had to classify it he would say it was a British accent with aristocratic speech patterns and tone. How the supposedly dumbest dino on the island sounded like that was beyond his ability to comprehend.

"Huh?" the group thought as the male spino stopped his charge before looking at the female "Sorry, dear sister, you know how I get after I kill something and that foul Black Stripe I slew back there made me hungry!" The spino apologized and complained.

"I know, brother, but do try and control your killing instincts until we hunt later. Now, let us go and thank that human over there." The female spino stated while indicating Tyler with her tail.

"Uhhh... me?" Tyler asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, indeed, you, kind sir. I wanted to personally thank you for rescuing me earlier from those dreadful humans with cages. I am known as Fiona and this is my brother, Robert." the female spino stated before the male joined in. "A pleasure to meet your acquaintance!" The now identified Fiona and Robert introduced themselves to the now dumbfounded group of humans and raptors.

Getting his bearings, Tyler replied. "Umm, sorry, I'm Tyler, this is Rick, Lucy, Angel, Adam, and Kava. It's... nice to meet you?" Tyler introduced hesitantly while pointing to each individual respectfully.

Fiona nodded to the group happily before returning her attention to Tyler. "Well, while I would prefer to stay and talk with my savior, I and my brother must go hunt for our brunch as the Black Stripe from earlier has whetted his appetite," Fiona stated in an apologetic voice.

Robert nodded eagerly. "Yes, indeed we must! Sorry good sirs and ladies, but we must now take our leave. Until our next encounter!" Robert announced as the two turned and made their way into the jungle but not before Fiona turned around and over her shoulder shouted.

"Oh! And farewell my knight Tyler!" and with that, the two disappeared into the jungle.

....

....

"Did that... just happen?" Tyler slowly asked.

"Yep." Replied Rick.

"And did she call me her..." Asked Tyler.

"Yep." Answered Rick.

....

....

"Well, there's my one mind fuck of the day! I'm going to go sleep off the crazy!" Tyler replied with false cheer as he turned and began to make his way out of the clearing.

"What about the other radio part we were going to get on the way?" Rick asked.

"You want it, you and the raptors can get it. I'm done." Tyler stated over his shoulder with finality. Rick decided to turn in along with Tyler and decided to check out the facility the following day. The Outcast pack had escorted the two humans to the bunker before saying their goodbyes and heading back to the nest, except Lucy who made up some BS excuse to stay with Rick for the night. Tyler at that point had stopped caring and had proceeded upstairs to get some shut-eye while Rick had fallen asleep in the living room with Lucy resting her head in his lap...again.


End file.
